Stormwalker
by ShadowHeart
Summary: Reposted. The only thing that is the same is the first chapter, but it should be better, not worse. An OC discovers a secret within himself that brings him to the Inuyasha universe, and there discovers the greatest secret of the youkai race.
1. Transfiguration

**A/N: **I'm only going to say this once: I don't own Inuyasha.  I'm still wondering what the point of that is, maybe a nice reviewer can clue me in?  Anyway, I just have one thing to say before I let you go.  This may seem like your average, garden variety, mary sue self-insert, but it only starts that way.  It will then take a drastic turn eventually, becoming almost an original story instead of a fan-fiction.  Also, this is only the first of about four stories, so expect sequels.  That said, it's time for you to read on, and enter my world!  And review of course…

****

**Chapter 1:Transfiguration**

          Life stinks.  That's right, I said 'life stinks.' And guess what?  I've got a right to say that, much more right than anyone else in this dump called high school.  All around me is chaos and noise.  All around me are clumps of students standing around talking about nothing.  They think they're talking about _something_, but it's all worthless shit.  Whoops, gotta hug the wall because a fight's broken out right in the middle of the hallway.  Why?  "This asshole was talkin' shit about me!" A prime example of human intelligence if I ever saw it.

          By the way, my name's Eric, and right now is my favorite time of day.  Why?  I get to go home!  The only problem with that is that once I _get home, I face a new pile of crap.  That's right people, parents.  Or rather, my father and stepmother, getting on my case about one thing or another, then calling me a fucking idiot when I don't do something right or don't do it at all, whether I did it right or not.  So that's my life in a nutshell, from dawn to dusk: get up, go to school, get bitched out by teachers and students, go home, get bitched out by family, go to bed, repeat.  For seventeen years. And people wonder why I have a complex._

          Today is different though.  I probably should mention that I have a job, an annoying waste of time that doesn't pay shit, and that through some fluke I actually made fifty bucks this week.  So instead of going home, I'm off to the mall to visit my favorite place in the world, FYE.  With fifty bucks I plan to buy a couple of anime DVDs, but I can't decide what to get.  Maybe DBZ, maybe Inuyasha, maybe Outlaw Star.  Who knows?  I'll have all the time in the world to decide, since there won't be anyone with me.  I was planning on taking my girlfriend up until about two days ago when she dumped me.  Her reason? "_I don't love you."  Blah, blah, blah.  At least I still have my left hand._

We're here!  Eastview Mall.  I've always loved malls.  You can be around hundreds of people and none of them will bother you, unless they go to the same high school.  (Author's note-Eastview Mall is a real place, so I'm not going to describe it.  If you've been there, good.  If not, sorry!)  So through the crowds I stroll along until I come to the great electronic Paradise-FYE.  Row upon row of books, DVDS, videos, and magazines stretch on forever( well, not forever, but a long ways).  Let's take a look at the DVDs first.  Last I checked, there weren't any Inuyasha DVDs out yet, but there are two of them sitting on the rack.  Episodes 1-3 and 4-6.  Awesome!  I'll definitely come back for them after I'm done checking out the newest manga from DBZ and Gundam Wing.  I walk over to the rack, only to find that there is more Inuyasha manga for me to look through. This is great!  Maybe this day isn't so bad after all.  Let's have a look.  I open the book and glimpse that fascinating world, straight from the mind of Rumiko Takahashi.  What a place!  Humans and demons, heroes and villains, priestesses and sacred magic.  All exist there like television and microwaves do here.  What a world that must be.  A place where honor, friendship, and truth still mean something, a place where you can feel alive.  Yeah right!   Nothing like that exists in this world.  Here, you are born, you work yourself to death, you chase crazy dreams, and then you die.  If you're lucky.  If not, you're abused, humiliated, oppressed, raped, or murdered in the process.  Some world.  Here, you're friends with people only for what you can get out of them.  Here, you love someone when you feel like it.  Here, you obey the law and pay lip service to justice until you have the opportunity to break it.  This is the world we live in.  This is the world we are born to accept.

I walk back over to the DVD rack.  I've made my choice.  If anything is worth fifty bucks, it's anything from this series, from this world.  The world of Inuyasha. 

My reverie is rudely interrupted as two beefy hands seize my shoulders and turn me roughly around.  Standing before are the three worst wastes of DNA that have ever walked the Earth, The Davis Brothers: Troy, Dave, and Bill.

          "Hey, fag."  Troy, the oldest says.  His breath, redolent of rotten vegetables, blows in my face.  His yellow, crooked teeth show forth in a sickening sneer.  "Hear you're girlfriend dumped you.  What'd you do, come out of the closet?"  His two idiot brothers laugh stupidly.

          I would laugh too, since this guy wouldn't think of calling me a fag if he knew how much of the female high school population I had been with.  This included his first and only girlfriend, which is why we are in our current situation.

          I try so hard, I really do, but a snicker escapes my lips, and his unusually thin patience snaps.  The smile disappears.  As if they share a mind, the two younger brothers grab my arms and pin them behind my back.  I may be smart, but I'm not very strong and these guys are all football players. Varsity.  I don't stand a chance.  Troy slams his beefy fist hard into my abdomen.  My throat burns slightly as stomach acid backflows up my esophagus.  His fist rains down again, this time across my face.  Blood and spit splatter the floor on my left.  The blows continue to rain down on my stomach, chest, and face.  My blood drips to the ground.  Their gruesome work done, the Brothers From Hell drop my shattered body to the ground, and walk toward the front door.  They shout catcalls to the girls at the front desk(Author's note: Only _very_ hot girls seem to work at this place) then leave. 

          No one makes any move to help me.  No one cares.  Why should they?  Helping _me wouldn't benefit __them.  So I pull myself roughly to my feet and wipe the blood from my face.  I look at my sleeve, stained bright red.  And all this happened because I took his girlfriend.  _Seven months ago!__

          The injustice of this fills me with rage.  I begin to charge out into the hall to find them and make them pay, but then I remember something.  For all my rage, I am still a weakling.  They would pummel me again, just like they had a minute ago.  So I turn back to the rack.  Eventually people stop staring and go back to their business.  In front of me are the Inuyasha DVDs.  I pick up two and bring them toward my face.  Inuyasha and Kagome are emblazoned on the cover. 

 I look into their painted eyes. 

 They look back. 

Then, my world changes forever.

…. 

Jennifer watched with horror as the three bullies pounded the kid into the ground.  She was happy when he finally got up.  He looked like he was okay, except for the blood that trickled from his nose and mouth, so she went back to the issue of _Cosmopolitan that she had been reading.  She read for two minutes until she felt a slight breeze brush through her blonde hair.  She didn't think much of it, until she realized that there wasn't supposed to be wind inside the mall.  She looked up, thinking that a fan must've been turned on. That's when she saw him, the boy that had been beaten up.  He was standing over the rack of Anime DVDs, staring, transfixed.  He had a couple in his hand and his eyes were fixed right on them.  She went to show this to her supervisor, but as she was turning around the wind picked up.  It rushed through the store, blowing videos and DVDs from the racks, taking hats from the customer's heads, and sending manga and magazines flying everywhere.  Where was it coming from?___

"Jennifer, what's going on?"  It was her supervisor, Brenda.

"I don't know!"  Jennifer said over the rising wind.

"Where is it coming from?"  Brenda yelled.  Then she saw.  Him.  The boy, standing in front of the anime rack.  The debris flying around had gathered in a tornado around him.  He just stood there, staring at the DVDs in his hands.                                                                                       __

She was staring at his glazed eyes when they flashed brilliant blue, and sparks of power began to fly into the tornado, turning the winds to azure.  Steamers of energy began striking out all over the store, and frightened customers dove to the floor to escape the onslaught.  The sparks and bolts of power formed a crackling ball around their master.  The very fabric of reality tore open, leaving a black gash standing in the air.  The boy raised his hands, and he was sucked into the void.  The gash sealed, and the storm stopped.


	2. Planeswalker Storm

**Chapter Two: Planeswalker Storm**

****

            With a heart of sadness and rage, Kikyo wandered the forest path, but a strange feeling caused her to stop.  Through eyes of stone, she looked up to the sky.  She didn't pay much attention, since she cared little for anything else but her revenge.  However, she felt something strange was on its way.  She continued to stare when the clouds began to move and change, to go from puffy and white to thick and black.  The darkness continued to spread until it looked like an inky stain in the sky.  Then the thunder began, in peals and crashes that shook the ground on which she stood.  The miko fought for her balance amid the shifting, rolling earth.  Next came wind and lightning in great waves that simultaneously lighted and twisted the horizon.  Trees were knocked down, dirt was flung into the air, and rocks tumbled from distant cliffs.  If a village had been beneath the onslaught, it would have been destroyed.

            The storm continued to increase in power and fury.  Rain, lightning, thunder, and wind scarred the land for miles around.  Kikyo, only a mile away from the center, was flung to the ground, simply holding on for what little dear life she had left.  After almost ten minutes of burying her face in the dirt, she looked up to the sky.  An amazing sight greeted her upturned eyes.

            The center of the storm began to swirl and twist more violently than the rest.  Then a split formed, and the clouds opened like a gigantic youkai maw ready to swallow the world whole.  It was through that yawning rift that _he appeared._

            At first glance, he appeared to be human.  Or rather, he would be if he wasn't covered in a scintillating armor of azure thunder and surrounded by unnatural winds.  He emerged seemingly from nowhere and descended slowly, his arms out to his sides, palms up, lighting flashing from his body.  His eyes were consumed by a shining, brilliant blue.  He continued to descend to the ground until his feet touched.  Then he was simply standing there, eyes ahead, surrounded by raging winds and a swirling cage of electric blue.  Lightning bolts continued to slam into the ground, spraying dirt, greenery, and the occasional woodland creature into the sky.

            Then the winds began to slow and die, the storm clouds ceased to roll, and the lightning ceased to pound the earth.  The man's eyes returned to their normal color and he simply stood there, a stunned look on his face.  Then he collapsed, face first, to the ground.

            Unsure if the threat were truly over, Kikyo waited on the ground for a few more minutes.  Seeing that the blue sky, sunlight and clouds had replaced the dark apocalypse that had occurred just minutes ago, she tentatively got to her feet.  Her face once more became a cold mask and she swept her long hair out of her eyes as she began to walk toward the center of the wrecked area.  And wrecked it was.  All around her, trees had been splintered or simply knocked flat.  The ground was charred.  Debris was everywhere.  The scent of death and destruction filled her nostrils, and valence energy caused the hair on her neck to stand on end.  

            She continued to walk until the charged feeling in the air began to become too much.  However, she had come to within one hundred feet of the strange man.  Or rather, strange _boy_, for the visitor looked about her own age.  Well, her age when she died, anyway.  Fifty years had passed since she was _that_ young.

            The powerful aura continued to subside, until it disappeared completely.  She walked to the boy's side and stood there, staring at his outlandish clothing.  He wore a strange kimono indeed.  There were types of cloth on him that she had never seen.  They were cut much different, too.  They didn't hide his body the way a kimono did.   The strangest thing, though, was the cloth covering his upper body, which was black, and emblazoned with a strange word on the back, which was the only part of him she could see. In addition to the word, there were outlandish designs, too.  She turned him over for a closer look.

            The boy's physical features were much different as well.  He wasn't Japanese, but Kikyo didn't know _what he was, since she had never seen someone who wasn't Japanese.  His closely-cropped hair was brown and a little scruffy.  His skin was pale and smooth.  He was slightly chubby, but not enough to be fat, and had hair on his face that could almost be considered a beard and mustache.  Completing his look was a strange piece of metal and another material covering his eyes.  _

            However, the boy was not faring well.  His breathing was becoming shallow, and his skin was turning pale beyond its normal color.  He was sweating also, and upon closer inspection, Kikyo saw that he was covered in burns, though not as bad as the last ones she had seen.  Kikyo knew that he was dying.  He would not last another few minutes.

            Then there they were.  The messengers of Other World.  Two ugly toads sent to take his spirit away.  But Kikyo would not hear of it.  She cared for children and a child he was.  Her healer's instinct returned.  She let the foul creatures climb onto the boy's body, and then vaporized them with pure energy.

            The creatures were gone, but the boy was still asleep.  So Kikyo sat down to wait until he woke up.  The sun fell beneath the horizon, and then rose again the next morning, yet still he was asleep.  Kikyo looked back, only to witness a horrifying sight.

            The boy had begun to change.

            His curly brown hair had changed to black, and was three times its normal length, falling to below his shoulders.  His fingernails had grown longer as well, sharpening into claws.  Ghostly scars, blood-red, had begun to form on both cheeks.  His lips pulled back in a sleeper's grimace, as if he was having a nightmare, and Kikyo could see his newly grown fangs.  Blood from his cut lips flowed down his chin.  Most important, and terrifying, was the fact that his youki, his aura, had changed.  Actually, Kikyo hadn't been paying much attention, her focus centered on saving his life, but now she could feel it.  The boy, who appeared to be human at first glance, was no such thing.  His aura betrayed his true identity.  The boy was youkai.

            Kikyo was shocked.  How could she not have noticed?  How could she have saved this beast's life?  Kikyo had many questions, but her miko instincts were taking over.  Her fingers began to crackle with mystic energy, and she raised them above her head, ready to strike with holy power.  She would not spare him.  The last time she had done so, the cost was her own life.   But she quickly stopped.  The boy's eyelids fluttered open.

            She expected to see twin points of blazing crimson, or shining gold, but instead they were a normal blue.  Pain radiated from them.  The boy, youkai though he was, was still deathly sick.  His skin was still pale; his eyes still red, his skin still slick with sweat.  He looked at her straight on, and Kikyo stopped her planned assault.  How could she kill him?  He was only a child.

            Kikyo stared back at him.  "How do you feel?"  She asked, her face emotionless, but her voice carrying a minute trace of caring.

            "_Like crap…Hey, you're…Kikyo?"  Her gaze took on one of puzzlement._

            "You know me?"

            "_Yeah…I mean, I may have seen you before."  The boy's words came out a choking whisper.  Kikyo was puzzled by this new arrival, but her first concern was his health._

            "Lay still, young one, I will be back soon."  Kikyo went down to the river, which was now filled with debris from yesterday's disaster.  The boy needed water, but she had no way to carry it to him.  She couldn't move him either, since she didn't know if he was injured or not.  However, she had some cloths inside her kimono, and she dipped these into the water and quickly returned to the boy.  She placed one of the cloths on his forehead to hopefully bring the fever down.  The boy was beginning to lapse into unconsciousness, but  she wanted him to drink some of the water she had brought, so she gently parted his lips and wrung the cloth out over them.  He groaned slightly.  Kikyo returned to the river a few more times, until she was satisfied he had drank enough.  Then, he slipped away again, and she sat down to wait.  After all, what else can the dead do, but wait?  As she waited, she thought.

            She thought about these last few days, how she was alive, but dead.  But she  thought mostly about _how_ she would live.  The first thing that came to mind was: Kill Inuyasha, but how could she live on that alone?  She needed more of a purpose, she needed a place to call home.  She needed to find a place where no one knew her, and thus, could not hurt her.

            _I want to start over._

She had made her decision.  She would not go out and hunt down Inuyasha.  Instead, she would settle down in a new place.  But one problem still remained.  The boy.

            As if on cue, he began to stir.  His eyes flicked open, but instead of pain and disease, Kikyo saw healthy vitality.  His eyes hadn't turned any strange colors, either, but stayed a human blue.

            Upon waking, he took the un-human move of leaping from his prostrate position, up twenty feet in the air, and back to his feet, wobbling slightly on landing.  His back was turned to her.  _Such a thing must be new to him.  But how, if he was born a youkai?_

…

            Well now, _that was interesting.  One minute I'm on the highway to hell, next minute I'm a Ringling Brother.  Whoa.  I need to know what's going on!  Not to mention where I am.  Let's see._

            What happened here?!  The place looks like World War Three!  What else is around here…

            "How are you feeling?"  Asks a strangely familiar voice from somewhere behind me.

            "Alright, how about y…Holy Shit!"  This isn't real, this can't be real!  Did those apes give me brain damage?  That's the only explanation for what I 'm seeing, because there's no way in hell the person in front of me can possibly exist.  I thought I was dreaming!  Of course, if this is her,  I'm in big trouble.  I'm standing in front of Kikyo, one of the most powerful miko ever to exist.

            "You seem troubled."

            "No shit!  You…You're…not real!"

            "I may be a walking dead, but I am as real as anything you see.  Has your fever passed?"

            "Fever?  What fever?  I feel fine!"

            "You do now, but only moments ago, you were dying.  If  I hadn't healed you, you wouldn't have made it.  Tell me, who are you, youkai?"

            "Huh? Youkai?  You mean demon?  I think you've got me confused with someone else."  Youkai?  Where would she get that idea?  I look human,  I don't have fangs or claws…wait, why is my mouth bleeding?  With two fingers  I check my lips, and that's when  I feel them.  Fangs.  _My fangs.  _

            I'm bewildered, confused, scared even!  My eye teeth must have doubled or tripled in length, and damn they're sharp!  Now why did it hurt when I touched my gums?

            "Aaaaah!"

            "What's wrong?"

            "**_What do you THINK is wrong!  I'm a fucking monster!  Jesus Christ, I 've  got fangs, claws, my hair is really long…(hey it's silky!) WHERE THE HELL DID THAT COME FROM?!  Do you have any idea what's going on?!" _I slump to the ground, mind whirling in confusion.**

            "You are youkai."

            "Lady, ten minutes ago I was human.  Humans do not _change into youkai, except in a few __rare cases, and I'm not one of them."_

            "Ten minutes?  You've been asleep for the past day or so."

            "Day?  I've been asleep?  How did I get here?  For that matter, how do I get back?"

            "Yesterday, I was walking down this path, when a storm began.  This storm wasn't natural, though, and caused incredible devastation.  That's why this area is destroyed."

            "What does any of this have to do with me?   I just want to know how  I got here!"

            "The storm continued for several minutes until a stranger descended from the clouds, cloaked in wind and lightning.  This man landed on the ground and collapsed, and the storm ended.  That man was you."

            "Huh?"  I blink several times, trying to make sense of this. Is she saying what I think she's saying?"

            "Are you telling me that I came here in a _storm, _through some hole in the sky?"

            "Yes."

            "You mean I did all _this_?"

            "Yes."  Oh man, this is too much.  I'm standing next to a an anime character, who doesn't look animated, in an anime world, which is _alsonot animated, and  I've become something that doesn't exist.  Did I mention this was too much?  I think there's only one thing a guy can do in situations like these.  Actually, two.  One is scream.  The other?_

            "Ughhhhh…."

            *THUD*

……….

            Kikyo watched the boy fall, face-first, into the ground.  He had fainted.  She walked to his side, turned him over, and checked him to see if he was still alive.  He was still breathing and he wasn't bleeding anywhere she could see, nor were there any visible injuries.  He would be fine, but she wondered about him.  He was obviously shocked to be a youkai, but he didn't seem to have amnesia.  This meant that he must at least believe that he was once human.  But there wasn't a single doubt in her mind that the child was youkai.  So the question remained, how does a pure human become pure youkai?

            Kikyo sat down again.  She would wait until the child awoke, then she would continue on her way.  The child would travel with her until the mystery of his transformation was solved.  ****

****


	3. Eric and Kikyo

**Chapter 3: Eric and Kikyo**

****

            My eyelids flutter open as dawn greets the land of the rising sun.  Damn that sun's bright!  I begin to get up, and every muscle whines in protest.  Did I mention I'm not a morning person?  Well, I'm not.  Hey, what's that smell?

            I look to my right, and realize that no, I'm still not dreaming.  Kikyo tends a small cook fire, over which she is roasting some fish skewered on a small stick.  There is also a rabbit, spitted and turning a golden brown.  She is completely immersed in the task until I let out a groan and begin to get up.  She looks at me but says nothing.

            "What, no good morning?" I say, hobbling over to the warmth of the fire.  It's a cool morning, plus I fell asleep in the mud and now I'm soaking wet.  My favorite shirt, a   t-shirt with 'Disturbed' emblazoned across front and back, is coated in mud.  I'm not happy; I like this shirt!

            "Are you feeling better?"

            "Still a little confused, but otherwise okay.  How about you?"

            "The dead do not worry about such trivialities."

            "Whatever, just trying to be friendly."  I hope she has more to say than that, considering I'm not leaving her side until I know what the hell is going on here.  The last thing I want is to be wandering all alone through _this place.  That would amount to suicide.  Even so, I want to get out of this disaster area, and quick._

            "Kikyo?"

            "…"

            "Are we going to be staying here for very long?"

            "No, we will be leaving soon."

            "To where?"

            "I don't know." 

            "Well, good enough for me."

……….

            Breakfast was delicious.  Kikyo cooks pretty good for being dead for fifty years, but her attitude needs some work.  That's funny, me talking about attitude!

            Anyway, we started walking about an hour ago and we haven't seen any sign of civilization yet.  Nothing but trees, dirt paths, the occasional pagoda in the distance, and untamed wild land.  I must say though, that this is a beautiful land.  In my world, you can't walk ten feet without running into some kind of man-made structure.  There are only a few places like this, but they were too far away from me.  Here, the equation is reversed: you'd be hard-pressed to find _anything_ man-made.  I thought this would make me want to go back sooner, but it's exactly the opposite.  I want to spend a little more time here.  Even though Kikyo is being…well, Kikyo.

            "Hey, do you know where you're going?  I'd like to have some shelter by next week."

            "I told you, I don't know where I'm going.  I will stop when it feels right."

            "Is it going to _feel right_ in say, the next hour or so?  This walking deal isn't very cool."

            "Your language is very strange."

            "Yeah, that's what people tell me, but I can't stand being normal.  It's way too overrated.  Anyway, what are you looking for?"

            "…"

            We continue walking for another two hours, but surprisingly, I'm not as worn down as I normally would be.  I couldn't even stand walking around the mall for this long, yet I haven't even broken a sweat.  This whole youkai thing is getting to be pretty cool.  The only thing to remember, though, is that there are a lot of people here who hate youkai.

            Kikyo stops right in front of me.

            "Kikyo?"  

            I walk around her, and take a peek at her face.  Her eyes are set straight ahead, into the forest.  She doesn't even notice that I'm staring at her.  Her attention is focused on something down the path in front of us.  Then she starts walking again in rapid stride.

            "Hey, wait up!  What are you doing?"

            "…"  This is getting annoying.  She keeps walking at a brisk pace until we reach a clearing.  One hundred feet before the clearing, and I already know that there are people there.  Not only that, I know how many, how old they are, and I could even tell you what they ate for dinner last night, or if any of them are related, all from their scent.  You see, it's all instinct; the knowledge must be inherent in a youkai's mind, which is why someone like me can use this ability.  Hmm…what else can I do?  I'll think about that later.  The people here are in trouble.

            A new scent invades my nostrils.  There are other youkai nearby, and they sure as hell ain't friendly.  Or cute.  I charge past Kikyo and into the clearing.  There I see a group of ragged peasants huddled in the middle of the grass.  It looks like an old man and two children.  Just as I suspected, the old man is the grandfather of the two children, who are brother and sister.  Wait, what is that delightful aroma?  It's…_fear!  Fear is _good?_  They're terrified!  Somehow, I like this scent!  Yet I won't allow myself the luxury.  I can't just allow them to die!_

            As I stand there, chewing over this new dilemma, the source of the peasant's fear appears above them.  It's a giant vulture!  At least as long as a bus and with the wingspan of more than that, it casts its massive shadow over us all.  Its feathers are a dark purple: the color of unspilled blood.  Its wings and breast are slashed with yellow streaks, and its eyes gleam crimson.  It opens its beak, revealing rows of razor teeth, then screams its unholy battle cry.  Instead of attacking the peasants, though, it flies over them and lands on the ground in front of me, sending up puffs of dirt and causing the clearing to shake.  Wind from its beating wings blows my now-back-length hair out behind me.  Its eyes fall upon me.

            Can I fight this thing?  It appears to be wary of me.  If there's a reason, I have to find it!  Is it afraid of the kind of youkai that I am?  Maybe, but I don't know what kind I am.  Maybe inu?  Who knows.  

            Anyway, what do I do?  I've never been so afraid in my life.  This isn't some high school bully, this is a monster.  A very _big monster.  The kind that eats wimps like me for breakfast.  But I've got to do something.  Maybe I can hit it with these new claws, possibly draw some blood.  Let's see how fast this thing is._

            I crouch down slightly, readying myself to spring.  I charge forward, and the creature takes the defensive, lowering its own body closer to the ground, wings stiffening.  I continue running until I am ten feet in front of it, then leap to the left.  I sail through the air over its right wing, execute a midair 180, and come to ground behind it. Getting my feet after a shaky landing, I see the exposed back of the creature.  It isn't turning fast enough, I can hit it!  Charging again, my claws flex instinctively and I raise my left hand to strike, then…

            *THUMP*

            *CRASH*

            I am thrown aside by the creature's wing.  It turned faster than I thought, and I am thrown back from a furious backhand.  My eyes see the sky, full of white clouds and sunlight, then stars fly as I impact a tree.  Well, several trees, then hit the ground and skid to a stop.  My body is racked with pain, and blood covers me, pouring from fresh wounds.  So much for a simple claw strike.  And guess what?  The damn thing _is fast!  In seconds, I am beaten.  I can't even stand.  Am I __really youkai?_

            Looking back through the wreckage of my forced trajectory, I see the beast preparing itself for flight.  It raises its wings, and leaps into the air.  Its eyes are once again upon me.  They glow a sinister crimson, but also with something else: hunger.  I spoiled its meal, so it will make one out of me.  I realize, barely an afterthought, that it will probably eat the villagers once it's done.  The beast descends from the sky kicking up winds and dust from the dry ground.  It lands twenty feet in front of me, then begins a shambling walk toward me, lying spread-eagle in the dirt and splintered wood.  If I don't get up, I'm going to be lunch!

            It continues its sloth-like approach, its eyes fixed on me still.  I try to get up, but pain flares through my entire body, and apparently I'm not supposed to move just yet.  The beast is now ten feet away, and I am in his shadow.  One swift movement of that razor-sharp beak, and I'll be in for a one way trip to his stomach, and the Reaper.  He lets out another traumatizing scream, and inches closer. Then it falls silent, and stops approaching.  It only looks down at me, breathing heavily.  It sits for 10 seconds, but does nothing.  Every muscle in my body is tight with fear, so tight you could probably play Metallica's "Call of Ktulu" on them.  The creature continues to wait.  30 seconds have passed, and still it sits.  It's hunger is extreme; I smell it on the air, and see it glowing in hate-filled eyes.  I am incapacitated, so why doesn't it strike?

            Then, in an instant, the eyes change.  The hate leaves them, and no emotion comes to take their place.  Its body quivers.  It shakes violently and begins to topple…on me.

            Seeing the massive bulk crashing down on me, I decide that whatever my body wants will have to wait.  I won't be crushed by this thing.  I roll to my left, and am covered by its descending wing.  Its heavy, but at least I'm alive.  What happened?

            "Are you okay, son?"  The grandfather peasant stands on top of the furrow created by my body, and looks down, smiling.

            "Yes," I say, trying to push the gigantic wing off of me, "I'm fine…"

            "Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!  Youkai!"  This nice old man begins to back away, a horrified look on his face, then runs away, grabbing his grandchildren on the  way.  No, there is no other youkai around.  He was talking about me.  You know, I haven't exactly had the opportunity to take a look at myself lately.  I must look pretty monstrous.  People will be scared.  He he, good!

            I finally succeed in getting out from under the beast's remains, at the same time getting a look at its back, where three arrows protrude from its flesh.  Arrows?  Kikyo?  Wow…she saved my life.  Again.

            "Kikyo!"  I call.  No answer.  Where is she?  Freeing myself from the beast, then gathering my feet, I begin to walk, then run back to the path.  I stop, and there's no one there.  I look down the path, and through enhanced vision I see her.  She is walking at her same steady gait: eyes ahead, head aloft.  The crazy chick saves my life, then walks away!  I begin running to catch up.  Even though my legs don't want to cooperate, I manage to make it to her in about 20 seconds.

            " Hey, Kikyo!  Kikyo, would you stop for a minute?!"  Of course, she keeps walking, so I grab her shoulder and turn her around.  She stares at me, a bored expression written on her features.

            "What?"

                        "Well, um, I just wanted to say thank you.  Again.  You saved my life.  Thanks to your timing, I was spared the fate of being something's meal."

            "That creature hesitated to kill you, why?"

                        "Your guess is as good as mine."

            "Who are you?"

            "I told you, my name is Eric.  I was just a normal, let me rephrase that, _regular _kid living in my world until I blanked out and ended up here.  I wasn't born a youkai and I'm not trying to trick you."

            "I'm not convinced.  What do you mean, your world?"

                        "Aw, damn…how do I explain this?  You don't exist where I come from, which means that I must have crossed worlds or something, somehow.  Alright?  I don't know what's going on here, but I want to find out.  If you'll let me stay with you for a little while, I can survive long enough to do that and get my keester home."  She must have seen the sincerity in my eyes, and believe me that doesn't come often, because she turned and continued walking.

            "Hey, you're walking faster.  Does that mean we're going somewhere?"

                        "Yes.  I'm going to find the villagers and see if they are hurt, since you didn't bother to see to their safety."

                        "Excuse me, I was face-to-face with a giant youkai!  I had to get rid of him before I could do anything else!"

                        "You made no move to put yourself between the youkai and the villagers.  You made no moves to protect them at all.  You only thought of your own survival, didn't you?"

                        "Well…of course."

            "Exactly.  You are youkai, therefore you think of nothing but yourself."

                        "Kikyo…I'm not like that.  I just…went on instinct, which told me to fight the youkai and everything would be all right."

                        "Youkai care little for humans, and most don't even care for their own kind.  Even youkai of the same kind will kill each other for sport.  They respect nothing; not the bonds of tribe, or clan or even family.  That is what you are."

                        "Kikyo!  I didn't mean to do it that way.  I…I just don't know what I was doing.  Alright?  And I'm sorry."

            "You don't approve of your actions?"

            "You look surprised."

            "Youkai do not admit weakness or wrongdoing.  Your behavior is odd."

            "Youkai don't talk hardly ever, and mostly not to humans.  Of course there are exceptions."

            "Yes, there are, aren't there?"  She fell silent for several paces.  

            "Kikyo…I smelled their fear."

            "What?  Who's fear?"

            "The villagers…and…I…_liked it._"

            "Youkai typically like the smell of fear.  It excites them the same way it would a wild animal. It heightens their desire to kill.  It, like enhanced senses and speed, is a part of you."

            "But that's sick!  How can any sentient creature take pleasure from killing!  Especially humans!  I wasn't like this a few days ago…What's happened to me?"

            "I can't help you.  You must find the answer for yourself.  Maybe talk to other youkai."

            "Yeah, uh-huh, sure.  Before or after they try to eat me alive?"

            "Some may wish to listen, especially if they are your own kind.  What kind are you?"

            "Couldn't tell you."

            "Are you inu, crow, serpent, stone, dragon?  You must have some idea."

            "No, not at all.  In fact, I was wondering about that myself.  Hey, you sense youkai, don't you?  Maybe you can tell me."

            "I can only sense that you are youkai through and through, no trace of human blood.  I can't tell beyond that."

            "I've got to figure this out somehow.  That was probably why the vulture didn't kill me."

            "Maybe.  Stop."

            "Huh?  What is it?"

            "Village.  Up ahead.  I'm going in, so you'll have to wait outside.  I'm warning you, don't get too close, and stay out of sight.  There are priests in there who will try to destroy you if they can."

            "Hold on, I just wait out here?"

            "Yes.  I will be back tonight, if you wish, to let you know."

            "Let me know what?" 

            "If I'm staying."

            "You mean you're going to live here?"

            "If I can, yes."  I take one look at the village, then it hits me.  This place looks damn familiar…Oh crap!  This is…

            "Kikyo?  I don't think that's a good idea…I mean, the villagers don't look friendly, the place is dirty, and I don't know about you, but I don't _want to_ know what kind of animals they're raising down there.  P-U!"  I even add the dramatic flair of acting like I'm choking to death on imaginary fumes.  The point of this is to get Kikyo to turn around, fast!

            "What are you talking about?  It looks like any other village."

            "Yeah!  Why would you want to live like _that?  C'mon, let's stick to the open road.  Please?"_

            "No, I've made up my mind.  Farewell."  Aw crap.  This is gonna get complicated.

…………

            Kikyo made her silent way down the hill and into the outskirts of the village.  She continued walking until she heard the din of many voices raised in alarm.  Ahead, she saw several villagers gathered in a throng.  They were all staring at something.

            "Get Seikai-sama!"  One cried.

            "Oh kami…"  A woman said, then fainted.  Kikyo came to the edge of the crowd.  A young girl turned and looked at her, then yelled to the group.

            'Hey, a miko!"  Every head turned to look at her.  One man, she assumed it was the elder or one of them, spoke to her.

            "Miko-sama, we are in dire need of your assistance.  This man has been attacked by youkai."

            "Let me see him."  Kikyo replied, instinctively ready to help.  The crowd parted for her, and she received her first glimpse of the injured man, lying facedown on the road.  She recognized him immediately as the man from the clearing.

            "What is wrong?  There are no visible wounds."

            'He ran into the village carrying his two grandchildren, then collapsed once he reached this spot."

            "He is still breathing.  He has simply fainted from exhaustion.  We must get this man inside, and he will require water as well.  Will someone fetch it?"

            "I will!" Said the little girl who first saw her, and ran off towards the village well.  Two men came forward and lifted the man up.  Everyone else began to disperse once they realized the man would be okay.

            "Will she be able to handle that?" Kikyo asked.

            "Of course," replied the elder, "Sayo is a strong little girl.  She can handle it all right."

            "Sayo is her name?"

            "Yes, she is the granddaughter of the man you are tending."

            "Very well, let's go inside and look at him."  Kikyo rose from her kneeling position and walked over to the house.  Pulling back the covering, she saw that the grandfather was resting comfortably.

            "I'm back!" Sayo called as she carried the overflowing bucket with only one arm.  

            "Good," Kikyo said, "bring it here."

            "Hai."  Sayo set the bucket down next to the bed where her grandfather lay and watched with concern.  "Will he be fine?"

            "Of course, once he wakes up and has some water, he will be fine.  Don't worry." Kikyo smiled, and the girl's fears were calmed.  Kikyo noticed that the girl didn't seem to be affected at all from her previous encounter with the youkai.  She marveled at her strength.  She instantly took a liking to her.

………

            Great! Wonderful! Spectacular!  Kikyo is having a grand old time in town, while I'm stuck out here in the damn woods!  She'd better get out here soon, I'm hungry!  And of course I don't know where to find food in this dump.  Oh my stomachs growling.  Maybe I can raid a house or something.

            It's been one hour since Kikyo left and stuck me out here, and after wandering around all that time, her wonderful culinary creations are long gone.  I think youkai have a higher metabolism or something.  

            Luckily, I haven't run into any other badasses who want a piece of me, literally.  It's been pretty quiet.  I took the opportunity to get my bearings and walked around the outskirts of the village.  It's not that big, only a few huts no different from anywhere else; my home probably sat on more land than the buildings here do.  The fields ,however, are much larger.  You could probably fit my high school and middle school on them.  Young men have been working them all day, some girls too, about my age.  People bustled around in town as well, carrying one thing or another.  I watched from the trees as Kikyo brought the grandfather into the hut, then came out several minutes later, a little girl in tow.

            Now for the bad news.  You see, I know the little girl, I know where we are, and I know what's going to happen in ,oh, say, a couple days.  Kikyo's going to run into some trouble, and as a result will be forced to leave the village where she is so happy to stay.  Not good.  I say _that _because after this happens, Kikyo's mind gets more warped than it already is, a.k.a Kill Inuyasha, Take Inuyasha to Hell, Kill Kagome, Pal Around With Naraku, etc.  Get the idea?  That will be bad for me, since she probably won't be interested in helping kids anymore.  The last trace of her humanity will be lost here.

            And what does that mean?  It means that I've got some work to do.  I must think, and then I must act.  Or else, both Kikyo _and I are __screwed._


	4. Intercept

**Chapter 4: Intercept **

****

            Kikyo stepped into the dark forest.  Sighting her target in a tree fifty paces ahead, she aimed, drew her bow, and let the arrow fly.

            *THUMP*

            "Aaaaaah!"

            *CRASH*

…………..

            "Aaaaah!"  Who?Why?Where?  **WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!  **Ow…my ass hurts.  One minute I'm sleeping peacefully in a tree, the next minute I'm eating shrubbery!  Looking up, I see the cause of my rude awakening: an arrow, right next to where my head was.

            "Oh, hi Kikyo."

            "Good evening."  She stands above me, and I pull myself up.

            "You couldn't have thought of an easier way to wake me up?"

            "It wasn't difficult." She says quizzically.

            "Yeah, for you." I say, rubbing my sore ass.  "So what's going on?"

            "I'm not _going on, I'm staying.  For good."_

            "So the people accepted you?"

            "Yes, I will make my living tending the children of the village while their parents work in the fields or in their homes."

            "Babysitter, huh?  Well there are worse jobs."  I say, thinking back to my two-year tenure as cashier in my hometown's grocery store.  Don't ask.

            "I will teach the children as much as I am able, and protect them while in my care." Am I dreaming, or do I almost hear _excitement_ in that monotonous voice?  Kikyo is truly happy.  Oh great, more pressure not to screw up.

            "Since I am staying, I will not be able to see you anymore.  I hope you understand; I can't be seen with a youkai.  I would lose what I have gained.  You will have to travel on without me."

            "What am I supposed to do?  I need to get back home, and I can't do that on my own."

            "There are many wise people in the world.  They would be able to help you more than I."

            "Whatever you say.  So this is goodbye then?"

           "Yes.  Goodbye."  She turns and walks out into the inky blackness, leaving me alone.  I wait until she is gone.  Okay, Showtime!

…………

            Kikyo's soul cried out with need.  Normal people would simply say that they were hungry, but Kikyo was miles from normal.  She didn't need to satisfy bodily appetite, since she didn't quite have a body.  Her entire existence depended on her tiny sliver of soul and to keep it alive, she fed on the souls of the newly dead.  That was where she was headed: dinner.

…………        

            I can smell Kikyo's presence nearby.  Not only that, I sense the other key players in the coming fiasco.  In the village to my right, down the forest path, a little girl has stirred from her bed.  She witnesses her good friend and teacher taking a midnight walk towards the outskirts of the village.  Intrigued, she takes a forbidden walk herself.  She follows Kikyo.

            Two others are also up when they shouldn't be. A boy training to be a priest is awake and alert at the command of his master.  He waits outside as his master readies himself, then emerges from his home.  He waves the youth forward and they set out with purpose.  The boy, to gain learning from his master, the master, to protect his people.  Seikai walks on, ready to destroy any threat to his village.

            Of course, I can't let any of these people reach their destinations.  If that happens, game over.  My reconnaissance complete, I leap into action, swiftly and silently moving through the forest toward my first objective. 

            I stop in the bushes next to the forest path near the village.  Kikyo just walked past a minute ago, so I should be far enough away to avoid her senses.  Here comes the first interloper: the strong little girl named Sayo.  She is moving from tree to tree to avoid being spotted by Kikyo, but she doesn't know I'm there.  She sneaks past, silent as a mouse.  When she is a few feet past me, I emerge from the bushes.

            "Hey you." I say softly, trying not to scare her.  I hope there's nothing in my voice that marks me as youkai, but I sound human, don't I?

            The girl starts and turns around, suddenly afraid.  There's that sweet smell again, but I bite the bullet and try to ignore it.

            "Who are you?" she asks meekly.  A shrewd smile comes to my lips, but I hide in the shadows to mask it, as well as my stripes.

            "A friend of Kikyo."

            "Kikyo-sama's friend?"

            "Yes.  Now what are you doing out of bed so late?  And wandering around the woods no less?  It's dangerous, since there's no snack that youkai like more than a cute little girl."  My voice is calm, but Sayo's is full of fear as she responds.

            "Oh no!  Kikyo-sama is out here, and I was scared, so I followed her.  Am I in trouble?"

            "I don't know…  I'm going to have to tell Kikyo, and she won't be happy to hear that you've been bad…"

            "Please don't tell her!  Please?"  She's standing in front of me, begging.  This is too much!  I hope I don't burst out laughing.

            "I don't know…Kikyo worries you know…"  I'm still smiling, talking in a semi-singsong voice that my parents used on me when I was younger.

            "Please don't tell her!  I'll be good!"

            "Will you go back to the village?"

            "Yes!"

            "Will you go back to your bed and go to sleep?"

            "Yes!"

            "Alrighty, I don't see why we can't work this out.  It's a deal."

            "Oh!  Thank you!  I don't want Kikyo-sama to be mad at me." 

            "Okay.  Good night."  

            Sayo begins to walk home, but I suddenly smell Seikai on the breeze.  This is the other interloper, the one who tries to kill Kikyo, but loses his own life in the process.  If he dies, there will be no way that Kikyo will be able to stay.  He must be stopped, but he also must be allowed to live.  Even though the guy is too stupid to breathe.  But wait, there's more: _I've got to convince him to let Kikyo stay in the village.  Kikyo, Walking Dead Chick.  Oh yeah, no sweat._

            Seikai and his apprentice are walking on another path parallel to this one, toward Kikyo.  God, I hope she hasn't started dinner yet!  I creep down the path a ways and peek out into a clearing next to a shimmering lake.  There, in the reflected moonbeams, stands Kikyo, her flowing raven tresses blowing free upon the breeze.  Across the still waters come her pets, sleek youkai serpents laden with souls.  They surround her, brush against her, release their cargo into her waiting hands.  She breathes in each ectoplasmic morsel with a detached ecstasy, speaking soothing words to each before it passes into her throat.  She continues with several more, the youkai circling around her like a perverse Lazy Susan, and finishes with a sigh.

            Now I realize the truth, something that even a youkai transformation and near devourment could not convey: I'm not in Rochester anymore.  Now I see that I am in an alien world, but more importantly _it's not **my**_ _world, and everything I thought I knew can take a one way trip down the hopper.  My mind fills with a sense of _otherworldliness _that grips like a frigid vice, and it becomes hard to breathe.  In spite of my newfound power, I feel alone, afraid, and pretty damn small.  I feel, no, I __know, that I'm not in control anymore.  Now, more than ever, I am in the hands of omniscient Fate, adrift in the currents of destiny, with no end in sight.  _

            My sense of displacement only increases as a dark figure enters the small clearing.

            "Can you not reach Nirvana?"  Seikai says.  Kikyo continues to face the waters as she replies.

            "Can't you simply pretend you never saw this?"

            "No, I cannot."  Their simple banter continues until Seikai moves to strike, raising his mystic artifact which quickly begins to glow with power.  He screams his intention to the rising winds: to send Kikyo into the next life.  The ball glows brighter as the glowing radiance shape shifts into a small, shadowy serpent.  A Dragon.  It darts forward in full obedience of its master's wishes, circling Kikyo and binding her hand and foot.

            Now I have to move.  One more second, and Seikai will die.  Look at that fool, grinning like victory will soon be his!  He has no clue who he is dealing with.  It sickens me to have to save this waste of life, and it sickens me more to know that I'll have to inflate his gargantuan ego to do it.  But the time for thought is over!  I have to move now!  

            My legs don't so much as twitch.  My muscles don't fire.  My nerves are dead as a disconnected power line.  Suddenly I find myself, at this critical moment, unable to act.  My mind screams to move, to destroy the Dragon, to free Kikyo, but there's one problem: the Dragon.  

            Its eyes are glaring at me, boring through the bushes and into my soul.  That's why I can't move, but why?  The thing is a youkai, in a sense, but at the same time completely unlike any creature I've ever seen.  The smell is strange; it's virtually nonexistent!  All I detect is a trace of bitter smoke.    

            The creature squeezes harder, but Kikyo is still unaffected.  More than that, she is beginning a counterattack of her own.  The Dragon doubles its efforts, but in vain.  Kikyo is breaking free.

            But so am I.  Without the interference of the mysterious Dragon, there are no intangible chains to bind me.

            Kikyo's body ignites with holy fire, and the Dragon's body starts to bulge, then break.  Then, complete destruction.

            Scales, head, and one ill-fated claw are violently sent forth.  Seikai watches his approaching Fate.

            If this were a regular world, the claw would sink itself into his neck, and Seikai would breathe his last, after cursing Kikyo's existence.  Kikyo would respond with a wordy 'I told you so.' Sayo would emerge, fear and accusation in shimmering eyes.  The last vestiges of Kikyo's humanity would be burned away in the slow-cooking fires of guilt and remorse, and her last hope of salvation would drift away on an eternal wind stream, never to return.

            Would, would, would.  Guess what people?  This isn't a regular world, and I won't see an innocent woman's life taken away from her without her consent.  Kikyo has never been in control of her own life.  Her death, her sadistic resurrection, her life as a miko, her unlife as a corpse and later an almost-youkai…all were out of her control.  Today, that cycle ends.  I may be a creature of nightmares, but I have not fallen so far as to embrace my new identity.  I revel in fear, but I will fight to purge all shadows.  I love battle, but I will fight for peace.  I hate humans, but they are my comrades.  Kikyo saved my life, twice, and such favors stand little chance of being repaid.  For this reason, I will save her soul.

            Muscles clench and adrenaline flows.  My body, a missile of flesh, blasts the undergrowth away in a blazing rush.  My feet pass through the grass so quickly that a furrow doesn't appear until a second after.  Winds chase me as I rocket toward the point of intercept.  I leap, dig my feet into the ground and raise my hands to stop the arm of Destiny.

            The claw sinks into my hand and stops dead.  Bits of flesh strike wetly against my shirt and slide down, leaving crimson slime trails.  I pick one off and absently toss it aside.  That explains it: this was a kind of ghost-youkai, a Dragon long dead and living as a servant to white magik.  

            "Quite a handy trick, monk." 

            "Yo…youkai!  Monster!  Prepare to die!"  The staff crashes down, landing neatly in the palm of my left hand.  I grip it tightly.  "Let go, beast!  Go forth from this village!  Kill no more!"  I wrench the staff free, and the monk is out of tricks. 

            "You fool.  I don't want to kill you, and I don't want to hurt the villagers either.  I just want you to shut your fat mouth and open your eyes.  In case you haven't noticed, I just saved your life, pal."

            "Monster!  Beast!  You will not be allowed to live!"  He is still ranting, but has sunk to his knees and sits plaintively on the ground.  The poor wretch has seen a lot tonight, more than he really wanted to.  That makes two of us.

            "You came out here tonight, bravely, to destroy the enemies of this village.  Yet what you think is an enemy is really the greatest friend you can have.  Honorable Seikai, this humble miko only desires peace for your people and will work tirelessly toward that end.  With her near, your sacred duties will be easier, and this will only mean a better life for all those under your watchful eye.  I humbly beseech thee, allow the miko called Kikyo to stay in this village for all time, and perform her desired tasks."  Oh **_Gawd!_**  I need to **_hurl!_  This is like a culmination of all the sucking up I've done since the day I was born, and I think I've _pulled something! _**

            "Please, master Seikai, respond."  Come on you retarded old fool, say something!

            "The miko known as Kikyo is not of this world.  She does not belong here."

            "All she wishes is a place to lay her head.  Even the dead do not wish to be alone."

            "Why has she chosen us?"

            "Your village is full of life, yet it is far from the world.  She can live here, tend her people, and not be discovered.  Her past will finally stay behind her.  Can you give her that?  Such blessed peace?"  *HACK* *COUGH*  Can't hold out much longer…

            "I will do what is best for the people," he says in a sickenly paternal tone, "If Kikyo wishes the same, then she is my ally.  Yet mark my words, miko, if you harm even the smallest of my watch, or reveal your nature of death to anyone, this battle will be repeated.  Good night." The monk turns steadily and walks swiftly back toward his home.  He will trouble us no longer.  

            Whew!  What a…I don't know quite what that was, come to think of it.  I'll say one thing: I've changed.  That simple fact is now frighteningly clear.  I went against all instinct and emotion to repay a debt, save a life, and set one lost soul on the path of healing.  I find myself staring at the alien sky.  I wonder now, exactly who I have become?  I have taken an interest in the lives of others and put my own neck on the line, and it doesn't even seem like a big deal!  A few fleeting days, and I feel as If I've lived ten-thousand years, for all the changes that have occurred.

            I am broken from reverie by an alien sound, disturbing in its reality.  I turn slowly toward Kikyo, who has crouched down on the grass.  Her back is turned to me, but I can hear her still.  Kikyo, stone-faced, dark-eyed paragon of mystery, is laughing.  Not the sickening snicker that chills blood, and makes smiles and hope fade, but an uplifting ring that warms the heart and conveys the end of a long night.  It is a lilting, giggling cacophony that makes me grin in spite of myself.

            "Kikyo?  Are you okay?"

            More giggling, and she rises to her knees, her long tresses hanging low on her face.  I go to my knees in front of her.  I hope the chick hasn't snapped after all the work I did to free her!

            But she's anything but insane.  Her chin rises, flowing freshets of pure black slip away, and I am staring at the face of a woman I thought I'd never meet.  The woman that didn't exist until this moment.  The real Kikyo.  Her eyes flash with new emotions: love, kindness, mercy, hope…and happiness; complete, undiluted joy.  Those pure, lovely eyes lock onto mine, and her feelings force themselves into the darkest corners of my heart, lighting my soul like the Rockefeller Christmas Tree.  It is an invasion, but it is most welcome.

            White, clean hands reach to my face.  "Silly, foolish youkai child…I told you to leave and you came back.  How disobedient…"  She smiles warm and deep.  I am paralyzed with its light, and can barely stammer out nonsense.

            "You are youkai, yet you have given me a greater gift than all of humanity could give.  I have a true home where no one will hurt me, and I owe it to you.  Fear not, whatever you owe me has been repaid in full.  _Sweet, sweet child…"_  Before I can react( not that I can do much anyway) her long flowing sleeves drape themselves over my shoulder and her fingers brush my neck, then pull me forward.  Our foreheads are touching, and her scent invades me.  It is intoxicating.

            "You are my friend now, forever.  You will never be able to alienate me.  From now until the end, ask whatever you need of me.  If you are hurt, I will heal you.  If you are dead, I will raise you.  If youkai stalk you, I will slay them.  I am only sorry that there is one thing I cannot give you: my heart.  For it belongs to another, forever.  Yet never hesitate to come to me, Eric.  You are a part of me now and always."

            "Kikyo…"

            "No talk…please accept this…"  And her body shifts, and my body shifts, and our faces close the gap, and our lips touch.  Her scent washes over me again, and the taste of her flesh ignites my entire system.  I'm kissing a dead girl, yes, thank you for noticing, I already know this!  Yet for this brief moment, I only care about the girl in front of me.  That's all she is now: a woman, not corpse or spirit or walking dead, but female.  She can live now as simply that, and she's off to a great start!

            Finally she draws back, and I am taken completely by surprise at the utter contentment in those eyes.

            "I must go now.  Yet I wonder if you would like to stay?"

            "No, you were right before.  People are scared of youkai, and the last thing I want is for you to lose your home for my sake.  I am happy because you are happy, and I will leave you that way."

            "Eric…always remember me."

            "I will, Kikyo."

            "I wish you luck on your journey.  May the gods assist you in your quest."

            "Thank you."

            "No, thank you.  You have the blood of a youkai, yet your heart is of an angel.  Go in peace."

            Together, we rise.  Our hands touch briefly, and then Kikyo walks back down the long path to the village.  Alone, _truly alone_, for the first time, I turn toward the gentle waters.  To the right of the placid pool is a small foot path of worn vegetation.  It could lead to a road, virgin forest, or nothing at all.  Or it could lead to answers.  I cannot look behind me, only forward.  I'm on my own.  Stepping forward, one foot in front of the other, the trip of a lifetime has begun with a single step.


	5. Hunter in the Shadows

**Chapter 5: Hunters in the Shadows**

****

            I stroll silently down the dark forest path.  Above me, a twinkling explosion of stars shines down from a silken sky.  All around me are the standard twitterings, trills, and cries of the woodlands.  The only other sounds are that of the wind and my own beaten down shoes impacting the soft dirt.  The breeze, sweeter than the most expensive perfume, blows cool on my sweat-soaked skin, and on it I sense nothing dangerous nearby.  I walk on, not sure exactly where I am or where I'm heading, but content in the fact that right now my life is my own: no one is making decisions for it except me.

            That's true.  I realize suddenly that I won't be going to school tomorrow, or waking up to a blaring alarm clock, or sitting in lunch listening to the same inane conversation about fags, ass-ramming, and masturbation, which seem to be standard fare in high school cafeterias.  I won't hear from my Dad, or my step mom, or my Mom, or any of my teachers.  _I'm alone.  _

            Now I don't have a home, and thus nowhere to sleep, which means I'll have to find a place somewhere.  Well, so far I've slept in the mud, in a tree, on the ground and in a bush, so accommodations shouldn't be that much of a problem.  

            Yikes!  The real problem is me!  The wind blows again, and I scent the deadliest poison known to all organic creatures:_ me after three days without a shower.  Makes sense; I've been plowed into the ground, nearly crushed by a toppling vulture, and following Kikyo across half of Japan.  That makes for quite a disgusting combination.  I'm covered in three different types of mud, bits of vegetation, and, oh yes, let's not forget Dragon guts.  I __need a shower._

            Unfortunately, running water won't be invented for another couple of centuries, leaving me to figure out something else.  I don't have to look far when the stream catches my eye.  I may as well, since Kagome had to do it a few times herself when she first arrived.  I'll have to meet up with her sometime.  Anyways, the stream looks like my best option.

            I begin to strip my clothes off, one by one.  First my black Disturbed t-shirt which isn't quite black anymore due to the volume of mud clinging to every stitch, then my jeans, which are ripped in the seat and the knees and are barely covering my…well, you know.  I fold up the tattered remnants of a once-beautiful outfit and lay them high on the bank.  Then I remove my shorts and socks, and begin wading into the shallow waters.  The moon reflects on the gently lapping current and it seems as if I'm walking into moonlight itself.

            Jesus** Christ!  Damn that water's cold!  My skin breaks out in goose bumps and goes numb a few seconds later.  First ankles, then knees, hips, stomach, and chest.  I stand there like a friggin ice statue, then plunge myself under the surface.   I rush back up, flinging my long mane out of my eyes.  **

This hair is going to become a problem.  I mean, it's long, black, and kinda silky, but it's really getting in the way!  I grip it with both hands to wring out the water, which is browner than the mop bucket water at my old job, and let it fall back to my neck where it rests heavily on my skin.  Oh boy, I need to cut this crap off.  I wish I had a sword or something sharp.

            Once my hair is somewhat better, I begin to work on the rest of my body, rubbing off all the grease and grime that has accumulated over the past couple of days.  It takes a few minutes, more like half an hour, but soon I'm somewhat able to walk in public again, though far from presentable.  My clothes are still dirty and torn, and there's nothing else I can wear.  I walk out, grab my clothes, then soak them in the river as the mess all over them washes off, then wring them out and lay them over a branch to drip-dry.  I sprawl out on the bank and look up at an alien moon.

            Not all that alien really.  I can recognize the patterns of ancient lava flows, or the Man-in-the-Moon as most refer to them.  The night is incredibly clear, or maybe it just seems that way since the entire country is devoid of glaring, halogen streetlamps.  In fact, they too haven't been invented yet.  I continue to watch the sky, wondering if there are any constellations out tonight.  Actually, there is a very strong chance that they don't even exist here.  I haven't really seen anything yet that resembles what I'm used to seeing, and a lack of celestial familiarity wouldn't surprise me one bit.  

            I keep staring upward, until I see the Big Dipper.  Hope swelling, I look to where Orion's Belt should be, but don't find it.  I stare again at the spot where Sagittarius should be.  Nothing.  Oh well, at least something is familiar around here.  Following the Dipper, I see Polaris, shining high in the sky.   So that's North.  Now I have the basics of navigation down, and can travel with some idea of where I'm going, but I still don't know where anything is. 

            The breeze continues to drift over my bare skin and I'm dry in no time, except for the dew on my back.  My clothes are still wet, but I pull them on anyway and soon weigh ten pounds more than usual.  Once I'm dressed, I set my feet back on the trail and continue onward.  The night is silent now, for some reason, and all I hear is the sigh of the wind, my padding feet, and my slowly beating heart.

            Then a whistling noise breaks the night; close and coming closer…really fast!  Before I know what I'm doing, I'm up above the treetops as something speeds through the spot I was just standing in.  I hear trees snap and fall to the ground, vegetation ripping, and the sound of animals scurrying for cover.   I continue up into the starlight, turn around, and it's almost on top of me.

            It's a boomerang.  A _very large boomerang, and its locked into a collision course with me.  Since I'm completely up in the air, I can't maneuver or get out of its way.  It's going to hit me.  With the size of it, the rate of spin, and its approach speed, it will probably rip right through me.  Of course, maybe my body will be able to handle it?  No matter what, I have only one option.  I put my hands out and prepare to block._

            The thing comes closer until it strikes my outstretched palms, and very nearly breaking every bone in them.  My wrists are wrenched back from the impact, and my arms draw in to absorb the shock.  Then I'm thrown aside, and I coast back to the ground after crashing through the canopy and a few tree limbs.  Coincidentally, the biggest I could have hit.

            Now that _that's over, my clothes are all dirty again and my body throbs with pain like a light on top of a radio tower.  Nothing's broken though.  Now what the hell was __that all about?_

            Footsteps!  Right behind me!  I turn and jump back, just as a sword nearly decapitates me.  Not fast enough, as the sword cuts through my t-shirt and leaves a shallow gash in my skin.  The sword darts forward again, trying to run me through, but I stumble sideways at the last second and escape another painful scratch.  I jump back one more time as the attacker tries another decapitating blow.

            I jump again into the treetops and land on a branch to catch my breath.  Who the hell is this?  And why couldn't I smell him coming?  I can barely smell him now!  My nostrils dilate as I scent the air again, only to find that he's a _she_!  I'm getting my ass kicked by a _girl!  And a human one no less._

            Whoever this is, she's pissed and wants me dead.   I won't even ask why, since the answer's pretty obvious: I'm a youkai, she's a human.  Human kill youkai, capice?  Makes sense to me anyway.  Wait!  Boomerang, sword, extraordinary fighting ability, female…No, it can't be.   I call into the night:

            "Hey Sango, cut it out, wouldja!"

            "How do you know my name?"  She stops her charge on my position, and now I see her clearly:  long black hair tied back with bangs hanging on either side, sword in hands, pink and black tight-fitting suit with an ornate flower design on the chest, eye shadow…Yup, it's her all right.

            "I know a lot about you!"  I call back.  "Put your weapon down!  I just want to talk!"

            "Of course… youkai!"  She spits back, and then slices through the base of my tree with one swing.  The branch I'm on, twenty feet in the air, dips toward the ground and the whole thing topples over, throwing me to the ground again.  I try to get up, only to receive a boot to the head and a sword to the throat.  Now I'm sprawled out, with the blade on my neck and a taiyja on top of me.  _Hey, hey, this ain't so bad, he he…_Snap out of it!  This girl's trying to kill me and I'm thinking about laying her!  Something tells me that the feeling is not mutual.

            "You wish to speak, then speak before I remove your ability to do so."  

            "Ummm…okay.  I, like, have a problem, and I was wondering if you could help me out?"  Her eyes flash dangerously in response, and the sword pushes further into my skin.

            "Okay, okay!  I know how this looks, me being youkai and all, but I'm not what I seem.  I'm not from around here, and I don't want to cause trouble.  I just want to get home.  I'm not even really a youkai!  I was human up until a few days ago, when I ended up _here!  _I don't know where I am or where I'm going, but I just want some answers.  Like why I changed, for starters."

            "Are you telling me the truth?"

            "Of course!  Why would I lie, except to save my scrawny neck from being made into chop suey, or mummified, or ground into hamburger, or sliced up…"

            "Silence, youkai!"

            "Whoa!  No problem!  If you let me up, I promise I won't do anything.  I'll stand in one spot and won't make a sound!  Pleaaaasssse?"  Oh my God, I'm begging like a two year old.  I guess that's what happens when you beg for your life.  It must work, because the Taiyja eases her body off of me, but does not remove the sword.

            "On your feet, youkai.  We're going to see my father."  She then deftly grabs my arm, wrenches it around until my back is turned, and finally sticks the sword back in my neck.  Oh great, a chicken wing!  A female scream rips the night.  Oh, wait, that's me.  "Now walk."

            "Yeah, no problem!  Do you mind loosening up a little?  I said I wasn't…"  I receive as reward a _much tighter hold.  I scream again._

            "I said, walk!"  She hisses.

            "Okay!  Geez, I hope you don't treat Kohaku like this."  I wish I'd just keep my big mouth shut.  I am thrown roughly to the ground again and this time the blade nicks my neck and draws blood.

            "How do you know of Kohaku?!  How do you know of me?!  Answer youkai!"  Okay…does this mean she's pissed or something?

            "C'mon…I'm not the only one who knows of you.  There are millions of people who have heard of you where I come from.  In fact, you're pretty well loved.  I'd love to explain, but this isn't really the time or the place!  Can we please just get to your father?  If he knows stuff about youkai, then he can probably help me."

            "I highly doubt that my father would help a youkai, especially one stalking around our village."

            "Wait, is the Taiyja village nearby?  Gee, I didn't know it was that close.  I guess my sniffer's not that good yet."

            "Yet?  Haven't you had several decades to figure out the workings of your own body?  You have to be almost a century old."

            "Century.  Man, have you got it wrong.  I'm only 18, probably not much older than you."

            "Impossible.  You would be little more than a pup.  You are clearly almost an adult."

            "You're still not listening!  I was human up until a few days ago, when a storm brought me from my world to this world._  Puh-leeze don't ask me to explain __that!  Next thing I know…_

            "Wait!  Storm, three days ago?  It occurred several miles away, but we could feel it as if it were happening right above us!  It is a miracle that you survived."

            "Well, I almost didn't.  In fact, it was a miko that saved me.  Getting back to what I was saying before, after I woke up, I was a youkai, when minutes before I was human."

            "Pure human, to pure youkai…?"  She said this softly, more to herself than to me.  She seemed to be deep in thought.  Everyone seems to have that reaction.  Suddenly her pace quickens.  "Hurry, we must meet my father at once!"

………

            After 20 minutes, the Bataan Death March* is over.  We reach the gates of the village, and with a nod from Sango to the guards, and walk quickly through.  We continue down the main path through the center to a large house on the other side.  As expected, everyone on either side is staring at me like a carnival freak show.  They look like normal villagers, but everyone, even the women, are carrying weapons.  Some are swords, some daggers, some curved blades.  The funny thing is that they're emitting some kind of energy that makes me feel _really_ strange.  I see that each is glowing with a kind of bloody light, and I realize that I know where each came from.  I know that one taiyja's sword came from the leg bone of a lizard youkai, and that a woman's dagger came from the rib of an inu youkai.  All these images swarm in my brain, making me dizzy.  I start to slump over.

            "What are you doing!"  Sango hisses to me, then yells "On your feet!"  She half carries, half drags me the rest of the distance to her home.  Once inside the simple wood hut, she drops me to the floor with a heavy thud.  "What's wrong?"  She asks, as I lay on the ground with my head in my hands.

            "Something…weird…head hurts…weapons…"

            "Weapons?"

            "Villager's…weapons…bloody light…"

            "Oh…I see, the youki from the Taiyja weapons bothers you?"  The vertigo subsides enough for me to manage a coherent response.

            "I thought you cleansed the weapons of youki when you forged them?"

            "Not for the villagers, since the weapons never go very far outside the village.  Only soldiers have purified weapons, like mine."  It's true, I sense nothing coming from Sango at all.  That's good, now I can get up.

            "Everyone is a Taiyja?"

            "Not exactly.  What you refer to as Taiyja are really the soldiers.  However, everyone here is capable of killing youkai.  We are trained for such a purpose from the time we are young."

            "Wow.  I've got to hand it to you, you guys are tough."  But deep in my heart, a sadness is brewing.  In a matter of days, this entire place will be devastated by a youkai assault, and Sango will begin the darkest period of her life.  Everything she knows will be lost in a night.  I'm not sure if there's anything I can do this time, but I can warn them of the trap awaiting them, and of the coming attack. 

            "Sango!  What is the meaning of this…youkai!"  Standing in  the doorway is Sango's father, the leader of the village.  He steps from his room, though I don't think he was sleeping. 

            "Father, this youkai wishes to speak with you."

            "Hi…" I wave one clawed hand weakly.

            "Why did you bring it back to the village?"

            "I was going to kill it, but it made no move to attack.  In fact, it is really quite weak and harmless."  _Weak and harmless?!  Why I oughta…  _

            "Still, it might be traveling with a pack, and now the pack will come here!"

            "Father, he was alone, I'm sure of it."

            "Well then, I trust your intuition.  Where did you find it?"

            "On a footpath a couple miles west of the village."  Finally, the father turns to address me.  Actually, he grabs me by the throat and yanks me up to eye level.  I'm glad my dad wasn't like this!

            "What were you doing near our village!? Answer, youkai!"  I respond, gagging.

            _"I…really didn't…know it was your village, honest!"_

            "You are lying…"

            "_No…not lying…can't breathe…"  I begin to black out when I am dropped to the floor with a thud.  Owie._

            "You are right, daughter, he is extremely weak."

            "Yes, and he seems to have no mastery of his bodily functions at all.  I was barely masking my scent and he still couldn't detect me."

            "Hey! Do you mind!?"  I call from the floor.  Daddy responds by stamping my face into the floor before continuing.  "_uther…ucker"  I gasp weakly through his boot._

            "Why did you not merely kill it?  It's too weak to live."  Bastard.

            "It had some…interesting things to say, and I thought I should seek your counsel."

            "Like what?"

            "He knows all about the Taiyja, as well as my name and Kohaku's."

            "How does he know of us?"

            "He said that millions of people know of us where he comes from."  He has removed his boot from my face, and I am able to look up at him.  His slightly bored expression has changed to one of intense curiosity.

            "Daughter, there are not millions of people in all of Japan.  That many could not possibly know our secrets."

            "He said something else, too.  He says he was human up until three days ago, when he arrived in the storm."  His gaze intensifies.

            "He came in that storm?  That was unusually powerful.  Where does he come from?"

            "He hasn't said yet."

            "He doesn't have to.  I already know."

            "Father…?"

            "Youkai, speak your name, and nothing else."

            "My name is Eric."

            "Just as I thought.  Outlandish, just like your clothes."  His calculating gaze falters, and he slips into wonder.  "_It just can't be true…"  _

            "Father?  What is it?"  The room is suddenly very quiet. 

            "Be still, both of you.  I will recount the most ancient legend of the Taiyja: The Origins of Youkai.  Eric, listen well." _  _

*Bataan Death March- an event from World War II where thousands of American prisoners of war were forced to march for a long period of time without food or water.  Many died.  Eric makes reference to this to reflect the grueling pace that Sango sets for him back to the village. 


	6. Revelation

Chapter 6: Revelation

            Morning sun drifted through the doorway of the small hut.  It hung first on the wall, and then descended downward until it reached the eyes of the miko lying sprawled on a simple straw mat.  Eyelids fluttered open, revealing a pair of raven eyes still glazed with sleep.  They quickly gained focus.  Kikyo pushed herself to a sitting position and yawned contentedly as her eyes swept the room. 

            She surveyed her new home proudly, simple though it was.  In fact it was nothing more than four walls, a roof, and a doorway, serving no other purpose than providing her a place to sleep, eat, and keep her scant amount of possessions which were mostly given to her by the townspeople.  Yet it was hers.  It was a place she could come back to, day or night and no one could keep her away.  She smiled and rose to her feet, and then changed out of her nightclothes and into her traditional outfit.  Kikyo was forging a place for herself and becoming known and loved by the people.  With a smile and sparkling eyes, she stepped through the door, and abruptly stopped dead.

Wind brushed her face and a dark scent was borne to her upon it.  She couldn't smell it, but it produced a tingling in her mind that is familiar to only miko.  Danger was near.  Youkai were gathering.  They were not in a killing frenzy yet, but she sensed that an attack was coming somewhere nearby, very soon, no more than a day away.  

She had originally planned to visit the children down by the river, but that was quickly forgotten as she made haste to the home of Seikai.  Stepping through the door of the slightly more elaborate home, she was disgusted to find him still asleep with the sun in the sky.  She crouched and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Seikai-sama, awaken."  He stirred slightly, mumbled something about his mother, and rolled over.  Kikyo tried again, much more firm.  "Seikai-sama!"  The old priest's eyes peeled open, and he stared at her stupidly before responding.

"Kikyo-san?" 

"The sun has risen.  The day has begun."

"Ehem…Yes indeed, it has.  Have you come simply to wake me?"

"No, I have come to tell you that I am leaving the village for a day or two."

"Why?  Is your soul becoming restless again?"  He loved reminding her of her not-quite-living state, but she ignored it and continued.

"I sense something strange in the area, and I must investigate.  You must watch the people for a few days until I return."

"Very well.  Goodbye."  He said and began to fall back to sleep.  Kikyo knew he would tell the villagers that she abandoned them, but no one listened to him anymore, and she didn't think much of it.  The people trusted her, and she knew it.  She walked slowly out of the village in the direction of the black energy.   She soon found herself standing at the stream where she stood just last night.  She found that the trail led off in the direction that Eric had gone, but he was not among the youkai horde.  She couldn't sense him though.  She set her feet to the trail and began walking.

……………

_Last night…_

"Origins of Youkai?"  I ask.

            "Indeed," Sango's father says, "Youkai exist in stories told up to seven hundred years ago.  There is no knowledge of them before that.  Then, suddenly, there was an explosion of monsters.  Beasts in the shape of animals began attacking human settlements wherever they could be found, and the land ran with blood and war.  Shortly after, humanity discovered the secret of White Magik and were able to keep the youkai at bay, but they continued to ravage Japan and even China.  Their numbers continued to multiply as unnatural occurrences scarred the land.  Earthquakes. Massive Fires.  Thunderstorms.  Youkai also bred amongst themselves and their power increased still.  The people of Japan struggled to hold on as war continued for centuries.

            Then, three hundred years ago, different youkai began to appear.  Instead of mindless beasts, they resembled humans, but were much more powerful and sought to enslave humanity.  

            Today, youkai are everywhere.  Some hate humans, others love them.  Some feed on humans, others protect them.  In many places, youkai lords rule the land and enforce their iron will upon human and youkai alike.  In others, wild youkai kill everyone they come across.  They are very much a part of our world.   

            Yet some things are changing.  There are many more hanyou in the world than there used to be.  Youkai and human are starting to learn the ways of peaceful coexistence, but there is much more work that needs to be done."  He gives a sigh, and then ceases his monologue.

            "Okay, so you're saying that youkai just came out of nowhere?  Do you know where they came from originally?"

            "No.  We were hoping you could tell us."

            "Wha…what the hell are you talking about?"

            "The storm that brought you here several days ago wasn't always such a novel occurrence.  Storms such as that were once all too common, wiping out villages and towns almost daily.  And after, there was always a strange man or woman seen descending from the clouds.  This was not the only disaster.  There were massive fires that burned many acres of land.  Men and women were seen walking from these.  There were earthquakes that split the ground.  Men and women were seen climbing from the cracks.  The one correlation is that these men and women always became youkai, without exception."  

            I…don't know what to say.  Do I really believe this guy?  If what this guy is saying is true, it means…no!  I don't want to…can't think about this…

            "They always became monsters?  That can't be right!  Every youkai came in that way?"

            "They either arrived in these disasters, or they are the descendents of those who came.  You came here the same way that the first youkai did.  Wherever you are from, so are they."

"Then…you're saying…_all youkai were once human, and came from Earth!  **My**__Earth**!  **No! I don't believe it!  _No!!!!!!!!"****__

            And with that I run, screaming, out of the hut, and out of the village.  I run until the place is far behind me.  I run until I escape the stares, the shouts, the ridicule.  I run so fast even my cursed youkai muscles are tired, even my God Damned Fucking Youkai lungs are out of breath.  I run until I drop from exhaustion.

            I drop in a forest, as expected, since that's all there seems to be around here.  

            Seething with rage, I pound my fist into the earth again and again.  When that does not dissipate my anger, I rear up and attack the trees, cursed claws slashing through the living wood.

            That's all I'm for, isn't it?!!!  Destruction, pain, death!  Youkai are good for nothing but killing something!  AND I'M FUCKING ONE OF THEM!!!!!!!

            I swing my claws harder and faster.   They cut through everything within a hundred feet.  Unwittingly, I charge them with magik and launch a claw attack, cutting furrows in the lush grass.  I destroy until not even that feels good.  Finally, I just sink to the ground, disgusted.

            Disgusted with this destruction, disgusted with this place, disgusted with the world that bore me, disgusted with myself.  And most of all, disgusted with the fact that the youkai that have caused so much pain in this world were all human, just like me.  The humans that I grew up with.

            I should have seen it from the beginning.  Should have recognized the similarities.  Humans of my world are just like youkai!

            We are guided by our most base urges and follow them without remorse.  We are violent, uncaring bastards.  We work together sometimes, but when it suits us, we will kill any of our own kind.  We are liars, murderers, and rapists.  

And here, this place reveals who we really are.  

I jump to my feet when I sense footsteps.

"S-Sango…"  I quickly wipe my cheeks, stained red not with stripes, but with bitter tears.  She's walking closer to me.  Strangely, her expression has softened slightly, and she looks at me with more caring eyes.

"You…ran off so quickly, so my father sent me after you…"

"To do what?!  To kill me?  You know what?  Go ahead, I don't give a damn.   I don't care about living if it has to be like this…I just don't care anymore…"  I turn away, and the tears threaten once again.  I clench my fist to hold them back, until blood leaks from my hands.  Stinging pain clears my eyes and brings back my senses.

"Father doesn't want to hurt you, not since you've helped us."

"How the hell did I help?"

"Now that we know where the youkai came from, and what they used to be, we better understand them."

"I'll never understand myself."

"…."

"Hey Sango?"

"Yes?"

"How did this happen?"

"How did what happen?"

"This transformation, and me jumping worlds.  And how come people in my world don't know about the disappearances?  There must be thousands of youkai here, yet no one seemed to notice that thousands of people were missing from my world."

"We know very little about the nature of youkai transformation.  I…I am very sorry."

"It's no big deal.  Tell me one thing: have any youkai ever been able to go back?  I mean, have any of them ever _dis_appeared in a storm or a fire or a quake?"

"I have no idea.  Youkai and human are extremely divided.  One race doesn't know what's happening with the other.  If it has happened, I have never seen it."

"Great."  I fall silent until Sango turns to leave.  Who knows where she's going.  It's not like I care really.  I don't know if I'll ever care about anything again, or if I'll even keep the will to live.  In one world, I'm ignored and oppressed, and in another I'm hated.  It just doesn't seem fair; will I ever find a place that feels like home?

Of course, it's not like I'm innocent or anything.  I've not guaranteed a one-way ticket to hell, at least not yet, but I don't think I'm bound for the Pearly Gates either.  I've defiled myself with my fair share of women, beaten up a lot of people that were much weaker than me, stolen what I couldn't afford ( and that was pretty much everything), and overall been a real bastard to people in general.  It's not like I'm proud of what I'm done; in fact, I really hate myself for it.  I just did what I wanted at the time, unaware or uncaring of what would happen to myself or others.  I guess now it's come back to haunt me: my twisted thoughts and deeds turning me into a hideous beast.

And that brings me to the one-trillion dollar question: What Now?  I can't go back, and I'm sure I won't be able to stay in the Taiyja village, so where do I go?  How will I take care of myself?  I need guidance and help.  Hell, I haven't eaten in two days!  If this keeps up, it will be impossible for me to survive.  Maybe I could talk to Sango…

Speaking of her, where did she run off to?  Probably home to get some sleep.  Damn, I'm pretty tired myself.  This has to have been the most hectic three days in _anyone's_ life!  

            I leap up into a nearby tree, take a position on a big wide branch, and quickly nod off.  When I wake up, hopefully everything will make some damn sense….

………..

            Staying low and masking her scent, Kikyo stalked forward through the bushes, her body cloaked with a special spell to hide her from the senses of nearby youkai.  It was late afternoon, and the youkai gathering was almost complete.  They were everywhere, drifting through the clouds, encircling the treetops, and skittering along the ground.  A massive horde was here, a number close to a thousand.  However, this was not just a group of hunters.  They hardly came together in an army like this, and Kikyo needed to know what they were planning.

            Kikyo knew that youkai were almost mindless, and cooperation among them was impossible unless a greater mind could turn their destructive energies to a useful end.  This struck fear into her heart.  Nothing was more dangerous than a clever, devious youkai.  She extended her senses into the wild, trying not to give away her position to the youkai only twenty feet in front of her.  She searched, and searched, and searched.  Then she found him.  The leader of the horde. 

            She gasped in surprise.  This youkai's power and intelligence were incredible!  But this was not what shocked her.  The youkai was not a youkai at all.  The leader of this horde was a hanyou.

            A hanyou clad in a white, ragged baboon pelt.

            She had never seen him before.  Yet why did this one make her feel a glimmer of recognition?  She pushed the thoughts away and brought her concentration back to reconnaissance.  As she scanned the area with her acute miko senses, she found their target.  A village where the people devoted themselves to the arts necessary to wipe youkai from the Earth: The Village of the Taiyja.

            Kikyo ducked into the bushes and waited.  She could do nothing to a number this large.  Therefore, she decided, she must wait until an opportunity to strike at the leader of this band.

……….

            The chirping of the birds is fading, and the crickets are beginning their song.  Night has fallen.

            I open my eyes in the dimness, and quickly sense that all is not well in the world.  Everything looks all right, yet something is off.  I smell something strange.  Now what can that be?

            I look in all directions, and then I look up.  

            The answer is obvious: Youkai.  They drift by overhead, the vanguard of the approaching force.  They are making haste to the Taiyja village, only a few miles away!

            So this is it?  Damn it…I never warned Sango about the trap!  Oh _SHIT....This is not good.  Sango and her family are going to get slaughtered at the lord's castle, and the rest of the Taiyja will get slaughtered in their own village.  I have to do something…but which way do I go?  I could go to the village and save more people, but if I leave Sango, it will cause her unimaginable pain!  I could help someone who helped me, or choose the many over the few._

            Surprisingly, the decision is quick, but not painless.  The pain of my choice will follow me to the end of my days.  

            Flexing claws, and cocking my feet to run, I take off…running at full bore toward the village.  _Naraku…**you're mine, asshole!**_

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

            Just a little note on the character of Eric.  I know I said this is a self-insert, but that's only partly true.  The stuff I wrote about 'myself' in this fic isn't true.  I've never done any of those things, but the idea was to make Eric something like my evil twin.  This has a purpose.  Anyway, I hope this clears up any confusion or disgust with me personally.


	7. Planeswalker's Trial

**Chapter 7: Planeswalker's Trial**

****

**A/N:** The song 'Hell's Bells' belongs to the band AC/DC.  Obviously I don't own it, since I could never think of anything that kicks that much ass.

****

            As one, the youkai horde fell into formation and began to move.  Kikyo estimated they would reach the village in less than ten minutes.  Once her enemies were in the sky, she followed.

………………

            The finest Youkai Taijiya in the village were arrayed in the castle courtyard, receiving instructions from the manor lord.  Sango's father assured the lord that they could defeat the monster preying on the castle, Kohaku quivered with fear, and Sango wondered if he would be all right…

……………….

            In the Taijiya Village, the leader of the guards sensed a strange presence approaching.  Danger was looming.  Acting quickly, he rallied his warriors for battle…

……………….

            He flew.  He pushed himself to his limit of speed, and shattered it.  All he could feel was what was at stake if he failed, yet he was also doubtful.  He had failed the last time he had entered a battle; how would today be any different?  How could he stop what he knew to be Destiny?  How could he stay the hand of almighty Fate?

            Casting the thoughts from his mind, he pumped his legs harder, accelerated faster, and sliced the wind in two.  He crested a hill in the middle of the trail, leapt from the top of it, and coasted along the forest canopy until he came to ground again.  He continued his furious pace.

            As he ran, he scented the wind currents, and immediately knew that they were there.  The youkai had reached the Taijiya village. 

He sensed blood.

            He sensed death.

            He sensed carnage and fear.

            And as he sensed these things, changes began to occur in both his body and mind.  He was suddenly moving faster, propelled not only by his muscles, but by something more intangible.  His fangs itched for the blood of his enemies, and his claws ached to rip through flesh.  He could feel his brain buzzing with angry activity, like his skull was a hive for the deadliest nest of killer bees.  These emotions warred with his more human, pure aims of protecting the village population.  Sensing this conflict, he came to a shuffling stop.  He looked up at the sky, at the youkai filling it, and at the moon which was waxing full.  It had no direct effect on him, but suddenly he was filled with animalistic desire.  He wanted to hunt, to feed, to fight, to kill.

            His desires, fully youkai, came to the fore in a crimson rush.  Engaging muscles and vocal cords he had only recently developed, he lifted his head to the sky and released his unholy battle call.

………………

            At the same moment, Kikyo stood in her position on the other side of the village, readying herself to strike at the horde.  She was reaching for an arrow when a horrifying sound assaulted her ears and made her blood run cold.

            She immediately froze as she remembered.  This sound, unfortunately, was not unfamiliar.  She was one of few miko who had heard it, and any miko who heard that cursed scream never forgot it, for it would haunt her dreams forever.  The creature that produced it was one of the most feared of all youkai, though also one of the rarest.

            Kikyo recognized the primeval roar of a Black Dragon.

………………

            Chaos ruled in the village turned battlefield.  The youkai had overwhelmed the defenses of that place, and her warriors were similarly falling to the inexorable tide.  Human bodies littered the ground, yet they were joined by a significant number of youkai corpses as well.  The Taijiya were not a weak people and were giving the enemy hell before they lost their lives.

            Swords clanged against steel claws and scythes cut through iron hides.  Battle cries mixed with the roars of the inhuman army.  Blood of both species ran free as wine and the sounds of the dying were everywhere.  Yet many still stood, and fought as well.  Every man, woman and child who could hold a weapon was fighting furiously to defend their home.

            Among the carnage stalked a dark figure clad in a baboon pelt, surveying the carnage with glee.  He knew this place would fall.  He knew because he desired it to be so.  When the sun rose the next day, the great Taijiya would be no more…

            As this last passed through his clever and arrogant mind, he heard an inhuman scream tear the night apart.  The sounds of battle continued as human and youkai sustained their perilous death struggle.  Yet something was coming.  Something that did not quite fit into Naraku's plans.

            After the cry, Naraku heard no further noise coming from anywhere outside the village.  Therefore he continued his march through the sea of death and destruction to his objective: the shards of the Sacred Jewel.  They rested in the ruins of what had once been a fine home.  He eyed them greedily and reached for them, but was stopped suddenly. 

            A massive tree came sailing over the stockade and crashed noisily into the middle of the battle, nearly crushing a dueling youkai and Taijiya.  They leapt or slithered out of the way.  Then another tree cracked through the stockade like a missile, followed by another soul-rending scream.  More warriors on both sides were stopping to witness the spectacle.  Gigantic fifty foot trees were being tossed into the village like toothpicks.  All wondered, including Naraku, what could hurl them with such ease.

            Like a thunderclap, they were all answered.  The youkai at the gate were the first to see the harbinger of apocalypse bearing down on them.  The unknown monster crashed through the gate, a freight train of flesh, and tore through any youkai in its path.

            From his position, Naraku watched with muted surprise.  It was a Dragon-youkai, something he had never seen before, and was one of the few youkai types that were not a part of his composition.  This Dragon was large, and possessed a ferocity he had never seen.  Its body was over thirty feet long, and covered from head to toe in diamond scales of darkest ebon, slashed with blood-red stripes.

            Twisting and turning, ripping and rending, its massive length surged into the village.  It immediately went about its gruesome work and tore through any youkai in reach of its claws, tail, or head.  In less than a minute, over twenty five of Naraku's soldiers lay bleeding on the ground.  Nor was the beast finished.  Taking a stance on its four stumpy legs, it lashed out at the youkai all around it.  One slash of snapping jaws unmade two youkai.  One whip of its tail dispatched three more.  It roared again, and sat back on its haunches, smoke beginning to roll from its nostrils.  Then, exhaling, it baked them all in killing flame.  

            The beast's purpose was quickly made known to the dark hanyou as its eyes, twin embers, met his.  The creature stalked forward toward him, oblivious to the youkai attempting to break through its impregnable hide.  Its approach was slow, yet had an air of inevitability.  Somehow, Naraku knew, this creature knew him, yet its scent was alien.

            The creatures eyes stayed locked with his, and then flashed an even brighter crimson, the fires of hate burning hotter inside.  It weaved gracefully from side to side as it came closer and stopped.

            The dragon watched Naraku.  Naraku watched the dragon.

……………….

            Kikyo began her attack with fury, launching a volley of a dozen arrows in a little over five seconds.  She smiled devilishly as the old thrill of battling youkai roared back into her system.  Death had not slowed her reflexes, nor had it decreased her power.  She let several more shafts fly and watched as they punched shining holes in the dark ranks.  Pure energy burned away malevolent souls.  Seeing that her attack was making a small impact, she continued with strike after strike.  The youkai finally rallied from the surprise attack and headed for her, surging up the hillside.  She downed several before they were upon her, almost twenty of them.

            They bared fangs and flexed claws, but never got close.  Kikyo gripped her bow with both hands and charged her amazing energy into it.  Then, twirling it and sweeping from side to side, she struck at the monsters.  Her purified weapon cut through them more effectively than any sword would.  One youkai dive-bombed her from above.  She easily sidestepped it and sliced its serpentine body in two.  As she moved, she cut through two more trying to attack her from the side.  Turning and raising the bow high above her, she brought it swiftly down into the head of another beast.

            And then they retreated.  Kikyo took several seconds to look at their retreating forms.  She was perplexed, since more than half of them still remained.  Then she saw the reason: the Dragon had entered the village.  She watched with mute horror as it tore though every beast that came against it, then turned its sights on the leader of the horde.

            Kikyo sensed a showdown beginning, but there was something else…The Dragon was…Eric!  That youkai child that had given her almost everything she could ever want was here!  He had transformed into his youkai form, but could not control his demon rage.  He was whipping around wildly, killing on instinct.  He was tearing through every monster on the field.  Now he was going to challenge the leader, but Kikyo worried for his safety.  This hanyou was like nothing she had ever seen…

            Youkai descended as the duel began.

……………….

            In an instant, the fight was on.  The dragon known as Eric struck first, whipping forward with cobra speed.  The hanyou known as Naraku dodged this easily, simply by leaping over him.  The dragon crashed through two houses and came back around, screaming with rage and shaking the ground.  Naraku sidestepped his next charge, and hooked his normally human hands into ogre's claws.  He sliced a rent in the dragon's flank.  The dragon attempted a tail whip, but  Naraku swept backwards with unnatural speed.  

            Then Naraku counterattacked.  Changing positions in the blink of an eye, he was in Eric's face and delivered a burning slash to his muzzle.  The dragon withdrew instinctively, but Naraku followed.  He sliced through him again and again, spreading scars and rents throughout its massive bulk.  The Dragon broke free again, spiraled upwards into the sky, and sent forth another wave of fire.  This too, Naraku dodged.

            The Dragon dove from its position in another charge on Naraku, but the hanyou had had enough.  As the monster drew close, Naraku flooded the air around him with miasma.  The Dragon stopped, stiffened, and fell to the ground in a twitching heap.

Around him, youkai and humans that had been hit by the gas breathed their last and died.  Naraku smiled with satisfaction and walked over to collect the jewel shards. _ His shards._

            As the hanyou moved to leave, he noticed that the Dragon had reverted back to a human form.  Hmph!  Just as he thought, a weak youkai child.  Just like that inubaka that kept challenging him.  They would all die eventually.  Nothing could stop him from getting the shards.  Naraku walked on toward a date with destiny at his new castle.

            Unfortunately for the arrogant hanyou, he was not able to observe the strange occurrence with the 'weak youkai child.' He did not see his body begin to rise from the dust…

…………………………………………..

            _In a mind on the edge of burnout, in a body broken, a singular will flared to life.  A spark was once again kindled, and one thought echoed:_

_            "This fight is not over…"_

…………………………………………...

            Thunder crashed and lightning ripped the sky.  Naraku continued his walk out of the village, paying little heed to the change in weather.  He then disappeared into the dark, leaving his youkai soldiers to finish the meager human resistance.

            The fight was not over.  Both sides continued to war, also not noticing that the sky was rapidly changing above their heads.

            _I'm rolling thunder, pouring rain_

_I'm comin' on like a hurricane_

_My lightning's flashing across the sky _

_You're only young but you're gonna die_

The storm was coming as the skies opened their fury onto the ground.  Winds rose to gale force and blew houses apart.  Rain fell in waves.

            The embattled armies now took notice.  The sight they saw horrified them.  Up in the clouds was a youkai man with his arms spread wide.  His eyes shined with thundering energy and power danced around him.  It slid on his skin, sparked in the air, and danced across his claws.  His eyes fixed themselves on his enemy: all youkai.  

            These same youkai quickly took notice of this new, more powerful being, and attacked.  Whipping upward, the horde gathered its singular mind and charged.  There were over half of the original force there, heading toward the strange man, but still he sat dormant among the clouds.  They closed on him until none of the perplexed humans on the ground could see him.  They were within one hundred feet when he struck.

_I won't take no prisoners, won't spare no lives_

_Nobody's putting up a fight_

_I got my bell, I'm gonna take you to hell_

_I'm gonna get you, Satan get you_

No youkai passed that point.  A wall of crackling lightning exploded from the skyborne form, hurling them away and destroying many in one brilliant flash.  Still more remained, though injured and lingering on the ground.  They were clearly reluctant to attack again.  They waited.

            The man in the sky, however, did not.  Bringing his hands together, he shot into the clouds, above them where none could see.  The clouds themselves began to glow, and then there was metamorphosis.

_Hell's Bells_

_Yeah, Hell's Bells_

_You got me ringing Hell's Bells_

_My temperature's high, Hell's Bells_

The clouds, once passive, became a malevolent creature of hate.  

_I'll give you black sensations up and down your spine_

_If you're into evil you're a friend of mine_

_See my white light flashing as I split the night_

_'Cause if good's on the left,  _

_then I'm stickin' to the right_

_I won't take no prisoners, won't spare no lives_

_Nobody's puttin' up a fight_

_I got my bell, I'm gonna take you to hell_

_I'm gonna get you, Satan get you_

At once, the skies loosed their payloads and rained lightning on the ground.  Water and wind came in abundance and all beneath it fell to their faces. 

_Hell's Bells, _

_Satan's comin' to you_

            Thunder struck in cerulean columns.  Youkai were burnt to ashes, or simply dissolved.

_Hell's Bells, _

_he's ringing them now_

            The skies flamed, the clouds shook, and the ground quaked.

_Hell's Bells, _

_the temperature's high_

It seemed to the humans that the heavens had turned traitor against the ground.

_Hell's Bells, _

_across the sky_

_Hell's Bells,_

_ they're takin' you down_

Then, all at once, the storm switched places, and came down among them.  Lightning jagged outwards in all directions, leaping and coiling like serpents.  They continued to feed on youkai flesh and destroy all remnants of the village.

_Hell's Bells, _

_they're draggin' you around_

_Hell's Bells, _

_gonna split the night_

_Hell's Bells, _

_there's no way to fight, yeah_

            The last youkai fell in a smoldering heap.  At that moment, the storm receded back into the clouds.  The hammer blows of thunder ceased to fall, the water ceased to drench the earth, and wind ceased to blow.  Now silence reigned.  Slowly, the dark cloud front passed and the sun began to shine again.

            The captain of the guard got to his feet on shaking limbs.  He was in awe of how everything had happened so quickly.  His troops didn't even have a chance.  First the youkai, then the Dragon, then that unholy storm!  

            He looked around, stunned at the devastation of his home.  Though wounded, his battle senses were still very much awake, and he searched frantically for any remaining youkai.  He found almost none, except for one lying unconscious in the middle of the wreckage.  It was the man from the storm!  That youkai that had destroyed everything.  He began to seethe with righteous anger.  He gripped his blade and began to walk over to the man's prostrate form, with intent to kill.  He made it halfway when he heard a groan next to him.  Looking there, he saw one of his men pinned beneath a fallen roof.  Naturally, he stopped to pull the man from the wreckage.

            "Are you hurt, soldier?"

            "Barely sir, one of the youkai scratched me."

            "Was it the Dragon?"

            "No, it was a centipede." 

Both stiffened when they heard more rustling, and a mother and her child pushed their way from a pile of thatch.  The captain looked them over, but both were fine.  Around the village, more were freeing themselves from whatever wreckage they were caught in.  He temporarily forgot about the last remaining youkai.  With the help of soldiers and civilians, he soon got the people to their feet, or resting comfortably on the ground.  He looked at them all.  He realized with much joy that most of the village was alive!  It amazed him that so many survived.  

Next, he commanded his troops to begin gathering the bodies.  It was one of these soldiers that called to him when he came across the body of the mysterious youkai.  

"Sir!  What shall I do with this one?  Should he be killed?" 

The captain wanted to call out a death sentence, but something stopped him as he looked at the village, and remembered back to the battle.  This youkai had released incredible destruction, and had destroyed almost every building in this village, yet he could not remember a specific instance where he had seen him harming a human.  In fact, as he looked at the casualties, he could not see a single burn or scratch that could have come from Dragon or storm.  Was it possible?  Could this be merely dumb luck, or did the Dragon purposely spare them?  Surely that storm could've destroyed everything, yet all that were not killed by the first youkai were still alive and mostly unharmed. 

"Sir?"

"…Lay him in the armory…"  The captain said warily.

"Yes, sir."  The captain did not know who this youkai was, but he was beginning to see that if he had not come along, all would have fallen.  If this youkai truly meant to destroy the enemy and protect his people, then he would no longer have anything to fear from the Taijiya people.


	8. The Fated Union, Part I

**Chapter 8: The Fated ****Union******

****

            When she saw the sky grow dark, Kikyo threw herself onto the forest floor and gritted her teeth.  She then cursed and muttered the Feudal Japanese equivalent of: "Fuck, every time I get close to a guy he tries to kill me!"  Following that, she curled up into a ball and waited for the storm to start.  It did, right on time and continued for over ten minutes, much longer than the last time she had the pleasure of the same experience.  Again, winds lashed her robes and rain soaked her to the bone, but the storm was more centralized this time, therefore she was spared the brunt of the blast.  

            Finally, it ended, and Kikyo pulled her aching, soaked, shivering body from the mud.  Getting her bearings, she looked down the hill at the village and noticed that most of the Taijiya were also getting to their feet.  She breathed a silent prayer for all of them, especially Eric, the harbinger of their salvation.  Looking over the damage he had caused, but also the lives he saved, she realized that she would have to rethink her original thoughts on the boy. 

            It was clear to her now what Eric truly was, and it made perfect sense that he would be a Dragon.  Kikyo herself had never seen a Dragon-youkai in its human form, and understood that they did not take such a form because most of their strength was lost, unlike most other youkai types.  The fact that he could cause so much damage in his transformed state in and of itself did not surprise her.  The giant lizards had to be the nastiest thing she had ever gone up against. 

            Yet that brought her to the matter of the storm.  Never had she seen a youkai, or anyone for that matter, do what he had done.  Even more confusing was that it was not a youkai Magik spell.  If it were, she would sense the winds of youki around him, but she did not.  This meant that he was something else besides youkai, and it was something not even he could understand.   The boy had many mysteries.

            This line of thought complete, she turned her attention to her young friend's location.  She had seen him descend to the ground, so he had to be…There.  She saw him sprawled out in the center of the village.  Then a soldier came along and carried him over to the last remaining building.

            She quickly fought her way down the slope toward him.  If he was in the same condition as last time, he would desperately need her help and care.  Therefore she double-timed to the outskirts of the village, and called out to the nearest Taijiya, a young woman with a staff in her hand.

            "Hello there!"  Kikyo called.

            "Hello, miko-sama.  Where did you come from?" 

            "I came here when the youkai attacked, and tried to assist in the defense of this place.  Listen, I need to see the Dragon."  The girl paled.

            "The…Dragon?  I think the men took him over to the armory."

            "Thank you very much."  Kikyo walked on.  She strode through the center of the village and came to the armory, the building where the Taijiya forged their fabled weaponry. 

            "Who goes there?"  A soldier at the door bellowed.

            "My name is Kikyo.  I wish to speak to your commander."

            "You may.  Pardon my outburst, Kikyo-sama.  The battle was quite trying on the nerves of all of us."

            "It is no matter.  I witnessed the battle from the hills."  'Witnessed' was an understatement; she had fought in the battle!

            "If you will follow, I will take you to him.  Now you must be careful.  We have captured one of the youkai and the captain himself is guarding it."  

            "I know of the youkai.  That is why I am here."  The soldier merely looked at her once, and nothing more was said until she came to the presence of the Taijiya captain.  There, lying on a stone work surface was her friend.  His skin was pale and thin, but he was still breathing regularly.  Paying no heed to the captain, she walked to his side and took his hand.  His skin was clammy, but otherwise he wasn't in nearly as bad a shape as he was after the first storm.  She shook him lightly.  No response.

            "Miko-sama, may I ask what you are doing?"

            "Can you not tell?  I am tending him.  He is sick and needs care."

            "He is a youkai!"

            "He is my friend!"

            "What?!"

            "This youkai and I have a history, and as he helped me once, I will help him.  Surely you understand such honor among true friends?"  The captain merely shook his head and gave a defeated sigh.  He finally decided to not kill the monster.  If this _miko _would call him friend, then he couldn't be that terrible.  Miko hated youkai above all else.

            "I understand.  I am still unsure if this man is a danger or not, youkai he may be." Kikyo laughed lightly.

            "I assure you, as he is, he is quite harmless to any seasoned warrior.  If you don't mind, may I ask when you first saw him?"

            "Yes, he was brought into the village last night by Sango, one of our warriors."

            "Interesting."  He must have been picked up shortly after he had left her by the water.  

            Kikyo turned her attention back to the prostrate form.  She did not know what was wrong with him, and could not use any of her Magiks to discover his ailment, since they would harm his body.  She was at a loss.  She did not know how to help him, since she had no knowledge of his spells or what their effects were.  She resigned to simply wait until he woke up, and hope the divine messengers did not come again to claim his soul.

            Kikyo took a place on the floor facing the stone platform.  "Captain, there is no more need for you to guard him.  You may tend to your other duties if you wish."

            "Are you sure, miko-sama?  You are positive he will not wake up?"

            "I want him to wake up, and when he does, you have my word that he will harm no one."

            "Thank you, miko-sama."  With that, he and his soldiers departed.  Kikyo waited.

            Kikyo sat for hours as the sun set and the village grew quiet.  With unshakeable patience, she watched for any change in his breathing, but saw none.  Her mind was somewhat quieted.  She simply wished she could do more, like bring him back with a touch.

            She wanted to help him as she had promised to more than a day ago.  She owed him a great deal.  If he had not come and stopped her, she would have killed the old priest, lost her home, and been Kami-knows-where by now.  And she would be sad again.  As it were, she was happier than she had been in a long time, even before her death.  Yet there was one thing Eric could not restore to her, the one person she cared for more than him.  The man who was her enemy, no, her friend.  Her betrayer, no, her lover.  Inuyasha.  

            Feeling warred for dominance in her tattered heart.  On one hand, she carried memories of the love they shared up until her final day.  On the other were the illogical feelings of betrayal, feelings that he was the one who killed her.  Illogical because on that day she was attacked by a creature that didn't feel like Inuyasha, but in her confusion she was grabbing for straws.  She attacked him and ended his life for fifty years.  She regretted her actions deeply.  But that did not change the burning in her mind that she did not want: the voice that said 'kill.' The voice that remembered the confusion and embraced it, still believing her misconceptions.  It was for that reason that she did not merely run off to find him.  She could track him down easily, and forever could be theirs with a word.  Yet her hate still remained.  So long as she remained in this form, this clay body, she could not live, and Inuyasha could never be hers.  She wanted to love him, but also to kill him.

            Her heavy thoughts continued as night became day, and sun filtered through the windows onto the boy's body.  He still did not move.  Kikyo was beginning to grow tired of sitting on the dusty floor, so she rose and dusted herself off.  Then she was out the door and into the late morning sunlight.  The air was warm and fresh and the sky was bright.  No trace of darkness or storm.  Once again, Kikyo was happy to be alive, if only partially.  Happy until her senses once again engaged.

            _He was here.  Him, his friends, and that girl.  Kikyo panicked and quickly attempted to mask her scent, yet the spell only partially took effect since her concentration was so rattled.  So she simply ran.  Ran out of the village, leaving Eric as well as her bow and arrows behind._

            The strange visitors reached the gate.

……………

            Sango surveyed the wreckage of her home with mute worry.  Sadness had pervaded her thoughts ever since the fight with Kohaku, and later Inuyasha.  Never had she known such despair.  Now, injured as well, she limped back to her village. 

            She had no idea how many people had been killed, or if any survived at all.  There were no buildings standing, smoke coiled from the ground in endless streams, wreckage covered everything, and mysterious scorch marks littered the ground.  The battle must have been horrific.  She doubted anyone could survive until she saw several people clearing wreckage at the gate, and noticed a familiar face among them.  This face was strong and youthful, and extremely handsome.  He had dark eyes.  His head was bald.  She recognized her childhood friend and later sparring partner who became the Captain of the Guard.

            "Captain!"

            "Who…Sango!  You're safe!"  The captain saw she was injured and his happy expression turned to one of worry.

            "Sango…you are hurt.  Have you been in battle as well?"

            "Yes…I have terrible news."  She looked at the ground once, mustered her strength, and continued.  "The Taijiya who went to the castle are dead.  I am the only survivor."

            "All of them!?  Your father, your brother…Oh, Sango, I'm sorry…"  With that he closed the distance between them and embraced her.  Sango meanwhile fought to hold back her tears.  

"I am fine.  I have survived and I'm happy to see that you have done the same.  How many of ours are still alive?"

"Many.  Most of the villagers and soldiers survived the fight, thanks to some…err…mysterious help."

"Yes, shortly before the fight at the castle I felt a powerful storm rise somewhere nearby.  What was it?"

"Well, I'm not sure, but I think it was that boy youkai you brought in."

"Eric!  He saved the village?!"

"I think so.  He changed first into a Dragon and ripped through a sizeable amount of attackers, but was beaten by the leader, some man wearing a baboon pelt.  Afterwards…"

"Naraku was here?"

"Naraku?  I don't know that name."

"I will explain later.  Continue."

"As I was saying, he fell and reverted to his human form, but the next thing we know, he was up in the sky raining lightning onto the ground!  It was he who destroyed everything."

"How many did he kill!?"

"You misunderstand, Sango.  He destroyed all of our homes, but not one person was harmed by Dragon or storm."

"How..?"

"We still don't know.  He's lying in the armory.  By the way, who are your friends?"

"Oh!  I should've introduced them before.  These are the brave warriors who helped me break Naraku's trap."  She motioned to her four friends standing behind her.  The captain had never seen a more colorful group.  He counted one inuhanyou, a young, strangely dressed miko, a kitsune-youkai pup, and one monk, who at the moment wore a strange and slightly veiled expression.  

"Tomaru, the hanyou is Inuyasha, the girl's name is Kagome, the pup is Shippo, and the monk is Miroku."

"Greetings, friends.  Anyone who helps a Taijiya in battle is welcome here.  I am the Captain of the Guard.  My name is Tomaru." The hanyou merely nodded, the miko and kitsune replied heartily, and the monk gave a stiff bow.  When introductions were complete, Sango spoke to Tomaru.

"Where is our youkai friend?"

"He is in the armory, the only building that survived."

"How is he?"  Sango asked.

"He is unconscious, but alive.  He has been out cold ever since the end of his final attack on the youkai.  We don't know what is wrong with him, but there is a wandering miko tending him."  At this, he noticed that Inuyasha's ears twitched slightly, and his eyes sharpened slightly, but he said nothing.  The girl also seemed to get a bit uneasy as she looked at her companion.  The group walked on and drew closer to the armory.  Inuyasha began to sniff the air, and a few hushed words were spoken to him by Kagome. 

Tomaru motioned them all to stop.  "I am sorry, but only Sango and I can go inside.  We will be out shortly, and then will see to some accommodations for you.  Shippo brightened; 'accommodations' meant food!  He looked to Kagome, expecting her to mirror his joy, but found only an uncomforting look of worry on her kind features.  

Tomaru and Sango stepped inside, only to emerge minutes later.

"Friends, it would seem that our miko friend has disappeared, but the boy is still asleep."  Kagome spoke next.

"Sango-chan, is this boy a friend of yours?"

"I'm not sure.  I found him in the forest when I was on patrol, and captured him.  He was…an interesting catch.  He says he was human, until he somehow came to our land and became youkai."

"Yes," Tomaru said, "And during the battle he fought bravely for us.  He is a most unusual young man."

"What is wrong with him?"

"We do not know.  He is asleep and won't wake up."

"Hmm…would it be all right if I looked at him?  I mean, I might be able to do something."

"You know healing?"  

"Kagome healed my own wounds and always tends to others who are hurt.  She is a fantastic healer!"  Sango chimed.

"Well, then I don't see why she can't try with him.  Follow me." 

Kagome stepped into the doorway and looked back at Inuyasha.  He seemed even more distracted than before.  What was bothering him?  She pushed the thoughts from her mind and followed the two Taijiya into the dark building.  She stepped into a smaller room and there he lay.

Kagome looked at him and surprise was her immediate reaction.  She expected something like a samurai, but he was nothing of the sort.  His clothes were…modern!  Though they were extremely faded and tattered, she recognized his jeans and black t-shirt.  Actually, he looked American.  This was confusing, because he had all the marks of a full youkai: claws, fangs, and stripes, but he dressed human.  How…?

Kagome quickly realized that pondering his origins was not the reason she was here.  She stepped forward to the boy's side to get a better look at him.  She reached for his hand to feel his pulse, but as soon as her fingertips touched his wrist, his fingers twitched.  Kagome nearly leapt from her skin, then regained her composure.  She hadn't exactly thought over the scenario of being face-to-face with _another _full-blooded youkai.

After that move, the boy lay still again.  She continued to feel his pulse, which was slow, but not terribly so.  He was alive, and his breathing and temperature were fine, but for some reason was still unconscious.  She decided to check his pupils next, and she withdrew a small penlight from her bag.  Then she leaned over his head and moved to lift open one of his eyelids.

It was at that moment they opened.  Two light blue eyes locked with hers.  She was frozen.  The youkai whispered one word:

_"…Kagome…"_

She then promptly fainted.  


	9. The Fated Union, Part II

**Chapter 9: The Fated ****Union****, Cont. **

****

                _It happened again.  It is no different from that other time.  It is no different than my defeat in the aisles of FYE.  Again, I was taken down.  Again, I was helpless.  Again, my rage exploded.  The storm inside my heart was set free upon those I hated.  I lost control, and I loved it.  This loss of control gave me power, the power to defeat my own people who were terrorizing this world.  I fought against them, bringing this unknown power to bear on enemies who were now themselves helpless, and were at my own mercy.  I gave them no quarter, and now the arrogant mighty have fallen._

_                This power I still have no comprehension of.  It comes when I am beaten, when I am spent, when there is nothing more to give.  It comes when I need it most.  Yet it is still an enigma.  It has faded now, gone back to wherever it came from, leaving my still unconscious form to rest, yet I still sense it now.  It is as a dim star in the night sky, not seen when looked at directly, but only revealing itself to the corner of your eye.  The land must become very dark indeed if I am to ever see it fully._

_                Wait.  Changes are occurring around me.  An intense light has drawn near.  A familiar scent lingering around a kind and courageous soul.  Who is this newcomer?  It is a woman, young, but full of power._

_                Her hands draw close, and I sense that she wishes me to awaken.  Her intentions are pure: if I recover, she will be happy.  Happy only because I have recovered.  She is human, why would she risk awakening a strange youkai such as me?  The reasons matter not.  I will try for her.  _

_                I focus, but all I can manage is a slight twitch of my hand.  Yet now the atrophy and lethargy of prolonged prostration is breaking apart.  Piece by piece, my body is coming back to life._

_                The time has come to awaken for her.  I open my eyes._

……………………………………….

                Outside, Inuyasha went into panic mode as a small and familiar yip was heard.  Kagome was in trouble!  He sped inside, heedless of the startled guards.  He rushed past them and into a back room, where he noticed three things of extreme interest.  The first was the boy lying on a stone work surface; a strangely dressed youkai.  The boy's eyes were slowly opening.  Next he noticed Kagome, out cold in Sango's arms.  He sniffed once and absently decided she was okay.  He then looked at the wall next to the mysterious youkai.  That was what startled him most.  He saw two things that evoked hidden and treasured memories, but also ones of extreme emotional torment.  He saw a plain wooden bow, and a leather quiver full of arrows.

                His attention now completely on them, he ignored all others in the room and sniffed again.  The room smelled of…magik.  Yet beneath it there was something else.  He scented harder and finally broke through the imperfect spell.  His body stiffened as he found the answer.  _This scent is…!_

                Not even thirty seconds had passed before Inuyasha blasted back out of the room, out the door, past his startled friends outside, and into the woods beyond the village.

……………………………………….

                Unggggghhhhh…..did someone get the license plate number on that six-pack…Ohhhhh.  Groaning, I rise from whatever surface they dumped my carcass on.  Wait, how the hell did I get here?  Actually, I should probably ask where here is, for starters.  I look to my right, and see a rack of assorted weaponry.  The weapons are Taijiya, so I must be in the Taijiya village.  Now the left…

                "Eric!"  Sango!  She's alive!  _Duh, of course numbnuts.  She wasn't supposed to die, remember?  _

_                Yeah, I remember, but lots of shit's changed, asshole!  A fucked up kid from another world wasn't supposed to save this place, either!_

_                Hey, you've got a point._

_                Duh, of course, numbnuts._

My self-dialogue complete, I begin to take in the sights.  I'm in a large stone building, surrounded by arcane weaponry.  Luckily for me, they've all been purified of youki, so I don't have to worry about any more of those wicked headaches.  As if I didn't have enough bodily issues as it is.  Next, I look at Sango, who is bandaged as expected but otherwise okay…Wait…who is she holding?  In Sango's arms lies a girl, no older than any of the girls I used to…well, never mind.  Besides that, she's much more beautiful.  In fact, she's…stunning.

                Before I allow my thoughts to go down _that _street, I begin the standard youkai familiarization process: sniff, stare, sniff some more, repeat until bitchslapped.  Actually, I was supposed to do this before with Kikyo and Sango, but some, um, _unusual_ circumstances prevented me from going through this particular rite.  Now, with no distractions, I am able to follow my inherent instinct.  I set my feet on the floor and begin to inspect her closely.  Meanwhile, Sango stares at me like I've lost it.  I sniff her hair, her shoulders, her neck, and down to her waist, then slowly back to the top.  Sango, meanwhile, has laid the girl onto the floor.

                "Eric, what are you doing?!"

                "Saying hello."

                "You could at least wait until she wakes up!"

                "No need.  I'm done."  I step back and my mind takes over the task of cataloguing and storing the memory of that scent.  And a strange scent it is.  It's like Kikyo, but at the same time unlike anything else.  Despite the similarities, it is still a wonder how Hanyou Supreme could mistake one for the other.

                With that finished, I am left to wonder.  I am standing before Higurashi Kagome.  She's out cold, though.  I wonder why?

                'Hey, Sango, why is she unconscious?"

                "Well, she was trying to find a way to wake you up.  Ever since the battle you've been asleep."

                "Wait, what battle?"

                "You mean you don't remember?!"  

"Was there something to remember?"

                "Yes!  Naraku's forces attacked this village and nearly killed everyone!  You transformed into your true form, and fought them, but you lost in direct combat with Naraku.  Then you transformed back into your human form, and unleashed a storm that killed all remaining youkai!"

                "Ungh?"  Holy shit.  Not this again!  "Are you _sure that was me?"_

                "Yes!  Tomaru ordered you to be brought here instead of killed."

                "Geez, thanks."  I say sarcastically.

                "What's the last thing you remember?"

                "I'm not sure.  I was in the woods when I saw the youkai coming, and then I smelled blood.  Lots of it.  I started running toward the village, trying to get there and join the fight.  You know, youkai instincts and all.  But as I was running, I started to feel real weird.  I stopped, and then…everything went red.  Things were really hazy for a little bit, and I felt like I was flying, and then I blanked out completely.  That brings me here."

                "So in other words, you lost control of yourself as soon as you took on your youkai form?"

                "I guess.  Did anyone by chance get a look at me while I was transformed?"          

                In response I received a look that would have been the biggest face-fault in anime.

                "Everyone in the village saw you!"  She cried.  "You single-handedly fought off the biggest army of youkai anyone had ever seen!   And beyond that, you…did not harm a single human being!"

                Huh?  Am I hearing her right?  When I blanked out, I remember feeling a sense of rage that I don't ever remember feeling before.  The kind of anger that makes you want to kill something.  Even now, I have no recollection of what I did in that state.  However, I'm sure of one thing.  If I was that angry and that powerful, I would not have spared anything living.  Back home, whenever I got pissed off, I'd get into terrible moods.  The only thing that stopped me during those times was my belief that I was too weak to have an effect on anyone.  Because of that belief, I simply choked back whatever I was feeling and waited for it to pass.  Even so, I was often red-lined for days at a time. 

                The only thing that's changed about me between now and then is that I've become youkai.  I don't think my morals have changed and I know I haven't gained any self-control, so it is simply inconceivable that I would show mercy in such a maniacal condition.  

                "Sango, are you saying that absolutely _no one_ was hurt in the attack?"

                "Not at all.  Two score of our warriors were lost, half the survivors bear wounds, many serious, and all buildings were leveled except this one.  Yet not one casualty bears the scars of Dragon or storm.  Your only victims were youkai."

                "Now what's this storm about?"

                "You used some strange attack to kill the remaining youkai.  That's what destroyed the village.  I heard from Tomaru that you floated into the sky and rained lightning on everything, but once again spared all human lives.  

I admit, I did not believe it myself when I was told.  I'm afraid you must excuse me, and the rest of my people.  We have spent generations eliminating youkai wherever they could be found, but we have never met one such as you.  In our experience, youkai with a human form are considered dangerous, and that's why I tried to kill you.  Yet you have revealed yourself to be most unusual.  I count myself fortunate to have met you."

"Sango, please don't thank me…"

"Why not?  My people are alive.  Our homes are in ruins but as long as we have strength in our hands and fire in our hearts we can rebuild our lives.  Were you not here, the youkai could very well have slaughtered everyone I've ever known.  Now, you have my eternal gratitude, and I promise you will never again have to fear the Taijiya." 

In the wake of these heartfelt words, I'm beginning to think that maybe I _have_ changed a bit more than physically.  I have saved several hundred lives this time, and people who would normally kill me without a second thought are now embracing me as a savior.  Yep. I've changed all right.  I wonder if I'd even recognize myself now.  That's actually a damn good question since I haven't had the opportunity to look in the mirror lately.  Mostly because there hasn't been a mirror to look at.  

"Eric?"

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering if you planned on departing soon.  Since you are no longer our prisoner, you are free to leave."

"To tell you the truth, I really don't have anywhere to go.  You know now that I'm from a completely different universe, and I still haven't figured out how to return.  Obviously, I don't know anyone from here, being from America and all."

"Amer..ica?  What kingdom is this?  I've never heard of such a land."

"It doesn't exist here."  _And it won't for another three centuries._

"Oh, I see.  In that case, I would like to invite you to stay in our village for as long as you may need.  If you would be willing, we will require much help in rebuilding, If you desire lending your power to the task."

"So you guys will let me stay?  How does Tomaru feel about this?"

"He is the one who suggested the idea.  Do you accept?"

"Ehhh….Okay.  Sure, but I've gotta warn you, me and tools don't mix."  Sango laughs lightly.

"I don't think that will be a problem.  Your hands will be sufficient to the task."

"Okay…now tell me, why is Kagome asleep?"

"I do not know.  She was checking something in your eyes when you opened them and whispered her name.  She fainted.  Tell me, how do you know of her?  Are you from the same strange land?" 

"Not exactly…It's…kinda hard to explain.  I'll tell all of you eventually.  After all, it'll be a long journey."

"What journey?"

"The fight against Naraku.  Sango, surely you're not thinking of staying and letting that wacko go free!  We've gotta chase him down and kick his ass!  You for Kohaku and your family and me for…my Youkai pride!  Whatever that is.  Anyway, we can't just let this go.  _I _won't let this go."

"You are right, but since my father is gone I have certain responsibilities to the village.  I am now elder."

"Yes, and as elder you need to do what's best for your people, and that means eliminating any threat to their safety.  I would say Naraku qualifies as one _big ass threat_!"

"Please do not lecture me on my responsibilities.  I, too, think as you do.  I will be traveling with Kagome and her friends to find Naraku and defeat him.  I am not sure yet if they will welcome your presence, yet I will speak on your behalf."

"Thanks Sango.  It's not often that people think so highly of me, or do so much to help me.  You've already done so much…"

"And you've done even more for me.   Do not think our debts are settled yet."

"Thank you."

  I am sorry to leave you but I must prepare."

"For what?"

"After a large battle such as this one, Taijiya custom calls for a celebration to honor the warriors of the day, both the living and the dead.  You must prepare as well.  You are, naturally, the guest of honor.  Now if you will wait here, I will bring you fresh clothes and some food."

"Wait.  Yes for the clothes, very big no for the food.  I don't know why, but I'm completely stuffed.  I feel like I've consumed a hundred pounds of the weirdest tasting chicken ever made.  I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound rude."

"Oh, I understand.  Tomaru said you  were devouring youkai by the dozens."  

_Did she just say…youkai?  Is she saying I've got a gut full of…oh god, I'm going to be ill…_

"Are you okay?"

"Just…*urk*…fine…" 

"Very well.  I will return with some fresh clothes for you."  With a short bow, she leaves the room.  

I can't believe this!  I am crammed full of youkai…carcass…ew…so gross.  _C'mon, butthead, get a hold of yourself!  In light of all that's happened to you in the past few days, I don't think this qualifies as quite that massive of a deal.  Whatever, this is still sickening and INCREDIBLY disturbing.  Mustering all my willpower, I somehow resist the urge to lose my lunch everywhere.  That done, my mind is left to wander as I wait for Sango to return with my new duds.  I wonder if she'll bring some of that cool Taijiya armor, or some crappy kimono like the rest of the village schmucks wear…_

"Ohhhh….Sango-chan?  Are you there?"

I look to the floor on my left and see that She is stirring.  Oh crap…what now?!  _Please don't scream please don't scream please don't scream…She sees me, and yelps.  Her face pales visibly as she rears back toward the wall._

"Oh, I…didn't know you were…awake…"  She is visibly trembling.  Obviously, she's standing in front of quite possibly the most hideous thing that exists for miles around.  Such behavior is quite understandable.  I merely continue to look at her, waiting for her to speak again.

"Umm…How are you feeling?"  Huh?  No 'how the fuck do you know my name?!'  No 'Aaaaa! Stay back!!'  Of all the things she could, and very rightly should, have said, she chooses to inquire about my comfort.  Her eyes lock with mine, and I do not see the fear that was there only a moment ago.  Instead there is only the famous expression of Kagome: unquestioning compassion.  This is the face that in episode 125 said 'Go, Inuyasha!  This is isn't the time to be hesitating."  After which the stupid mutt went off to find Kikyo, leaving her all alone.  The face that looked over Shippo in episode 9 as she tended to the large lump on his head, given by Inuyasha after the kitsune tried to rob them of their Shikon shards.  The face that stood between the thieves and their maniac boss in episode 2, even though the thieves would have probably raped and killed her without mercy.  This is the one component of the series that I could never understand: her compassion, her purity, her love.  I have never known anything in my own world that even comes close to her.  Now I am in her presence, and she still makes absolutely no sense.  Shouldn't she _at least hate _me_?  Shouldn't her fountain of compassion run dry in _my _presence?  No one else could ever seem to stand me.  What makes her so different?  It's probably nothing.  She'll change eventually.  Those eyes won't care for me for very long.  Everyone always leaves me in the end. _

"I'm fine."  At this point, something strange and entirely unwanted happens.  In an instant, my muscles turn traitor against me and against my will, I reach down and offer my hand to her, whereupon she clasps it with her own small fingers, and I pull her to her feet.  Immediately I see her as she was meant to be seen: her dark yet innocent, shining eyes, her small yet beautiful smile, her skin, not completely perfect but radiant nonetheless, and her hair, a perfect shade of purest raven: the polar opposite of her heart.   Standing here, her scent completely envelops me, and I stagger back a step to avoid complete immersion.  Her eyes change, as she apparently thinks I'm about to faint.  Maybe I am…but sure as hell not from battle fatigue…

She is beside me in an instant.  "Here, let me help you."  She positions her body under my left shoulder and proceeds to guide me to where I lay only moments ago.  I sit, and she continues to watch me with worry in her eyes.

"I'm okay, Kagome, you don't have to be so damn close."  In reality, I want to run out of here like a thunderbolt.  Her scent is…making me…crazy.

"Oh, sorry…Wait!  You said my name again!"  Now, here it comes… "Do I…know you?"

"No."

"How…do you know who I am?"

"I know lots of things about a lot of people.  Just ask Sango."  I would have added 'and Kikyo' but I figure the 'K' word is not something she would want to hear.  Even though I don't think most of the crap Kikyo tried to do to Kagome in the series will happen now.  "I know that you come from a time of cars, computers, skyscrapers, and high schools.  Enjoy any shakes from WacDonald's lately?  How's Souta, Jii-chan, and Mama Higurashi?"

Kagome's jaw has almost hit the floor.  Her eyes are bugged just about out of her head.  Oh, and I think she's trembling.  

"Like I said, I know things."

"You…how do you know of my time if you're youkai?"  

"It's a long story.  Very long."  Her voice fades to a whisper as a breathless question escapes her lips.  "Are you…a modern-day youkai?  Did you fall down the well?"

"No.  In fact, I wish I did, then it would be much easier to get back.  As far as that goes, getting back is going to be really interesting.  And as far as where I'm from, let's just say you wouldn't want to go."

"You're not a stalker or something are you?"

                "Of course not, what good would it do me to follow_ you?  I don't want to hurt anyone and I'm not after the shards.  I'll just say I have had some unique…visions.  Let's leave it at that."_

                "Okay, just out of curiosity, why were you asleep?"

                "I don't know exactly.  That's been happening a lot over the past week.  I'll get into a battle or get attacked by something, then I'll blank out for a day or so.  When I come to, everything looks like World War Three!  Just like the village out there.  They said I did that, but didn't hurt  anyone.  Which is, by the way, impossible.  This is just…really confusing."

                "What's so confusing?  You just didn't want to hurt anyone.  You should be happy."

                "I guess I should, shouldn't I…"  Footsteps sound from the door.

                "I have returned, and with your new garments."  In her arms she carries something black and stiff-looking.  There's some kind of red cloth with it as well.  She opens it and it's the one thing I didn't expect: a Taijiya uniform.  And it's even in my native colors: black and red.

                "Sango!  I…"  What can I say, I'm speechless.  This is just too cool!

                "Here you are, now change quickly, so you may begin helping us prepare for tonight."

                "Okay, no problem.  Would you give me some privacy, or would you like to help?"  Kagome realizes quickly that my sardonic inquiry was directed at her.  

                "Wha…of course not!"  She walks out the door followed by Sango, who are both probably mumbling 'hentai.' Hefting my new armor, I walk out of the building and out into the bright sunlight of the afternoon.  Damn!  Ouch!  Bright sun…night vision…owie…  I stagger back and forth waiting for my eyes to adjust, then nearly faint (I seem to be doing that a lot lately) when I survey the ruins of the Taijiya Village.  Holy shit!  This place is fucking _totaled_.  There's no way anyone could have survived this!  But people have.  I see them, many familiar faces from when I was first dragged in by one of the finest of cats, Sango.  They are lifting shattered boards, clearing away debris, tending wounded, even performing more domestic tasks such as sweeping and preparing food; all in the open air and all amidst piles of debris.  Let's just say these people bounce back fast.

                I walk through the rubble field and make haste to the river, very near the spot I was captured.  In fact, I can see the shattered tree stumps left behind by Hiraikotsu.  Moving on, I reach the river and perform the entire ritual of freshening up, which includes freezing my ass off in the process.  I still haven't gotten used to the whole 'wash my privates in the ice-cold river' deal.  Yet there isn't any other option.  I have to be clean, and for now at least, becoming a floating ice block seems to be part of the process.  Minutes later, I am clear of the river, dry, warm, and best of all, clothed in my new tight-fitting Taijiya uniform.  It's a little snug in…um…certain areas, but otherwise it feels great, provided I don't attempt a split.

                More than that, it allows me to see how much my body has changed.  In place of mush, comes muscle!  I have pecs, abs, lats…pretty much everything  I didn't have back in my old life.  In spite of all that's been happening to me, I think I actually like this world a little.  I mean, it's a hell of a lot different than how the series made it out to be, but it's somehow more…_pure.  Yes, more pure than my own world.  Despite all the war and death that runs rampant here, there seems to be less greed, corruption, and hate.  The average people all seem kind, gracious, and hard-working.  The taijiya are a prime example but the people in the last village were the same.  It is in sharp contrast to the people in my world, who seem to love getting rich of other's labors, while they sit on their fat asses in their tropical mansions.  People here work for everything they get, and bad guys like Naraku seem to be the exception, not the rule.  Leaders seem to be those who serve instead of getting served, like Sango and her father._

                But there is one thing in particular that bothers me.  There's something that I sense here, in the air, in the wind, in the flowing of the river, in the waving of the grass.  Yet I can't see, hear, scent, touch or taste it.  It's something that I know is there, an added depth and quality to things, a kind of pulse beneath the normal labors of the world.  It is intangible, but powerful.  I have no idea what it is, but it is what separates this world from my own.  It was felt the moment I awoke here, and I feel it still with every breath I take.  Unknown, but strong and pervasive.  

                Many things in this world confuse me, and since I have no immediate plan for getting home, I might as well try to make sense of it.  After all, I've been given the opportunity that others like me could only dream of: the chance to explore another world.  Not just through a television screen or a computer monitor, but on my feet and with my eyes and hands.  Touching what is really there and seeing the colors, smelling the sakura and hearing the birds sing through a land mostly untouched by the greed of man.  This place, it somehow feels more like home.  Suddenly, I almost feel alive again.

                I guess I'll just try and enjoy it until I can figure out exactly what got me here, then I'll go back to my mundane life of school, books, teachers, parents, and enemies.  Back to a world without honor and a home without peace.

                Taking one last look back at the river, I set my feet ahead and walk silently back to the village, leaving the dark, muddy river to flow on forever, without me.


	10. Chapter 10: Heroes Unite

**Chapter 10: Heroes Unite**

****

            Through the early afternoon light ran the frightened young miko.  Away from certain doom, or salvation.  She ran furiously, giving little thought to where she was going.  Branches clawed at her face while ground-borne shoots pulled at her hakama.  Still she ran despite the pain, despite the aching in her lungs.  Still she ran as if the devil himself were at her heels, because in her mind he was.

            Kikyo dashed as far into the woods as her clay body would allow her.  Then she reengaged her senses.  He was coming.  She had mere minutes before his arrival.  Suddenly the fear melted from her mind and heart, for she knew her lover-enemy was close at hand, and she prepared for his arrival swiftly, first casting a more complete cloaking spell to wreathe her in protecting energies, and to render her prey's most important ability, scent, useless.  Then she took a knee, put an arrow to the string, pulled back, and waited.  He was right on time, and right in position, dashing straight into her line of sight like a fool.  _Still as childish as ever…_She thought, though beneath the feral smile of a warrior was something more like the mirth of a woman admiring a child she loves dearly, though knows she must discipline harshly.  That thought in mind, she took aim at the unknowing hanyou, turning around in circles, sniffing the air like a confused mutt on a raccoon hunt. 

            As she pulled the string back farther, it began to grow heavy in her grip.  It seemed harder and harder to pull the closer she came to firing position.  Her palms and fingers began to sweat, and her eyes began to itch.  Meanwhile, her target began to move closer to her position on the hillside above him, though still in the dark as to her location.

            _Why do I hesitate?  He is in range, yet I do not strike.  I am a fool!  Through hesitation, I will fall again by his foul claws!  I must not!_

Kikyo gritted her teeth and hauled back on the sting, bending the bow completely.  The arrow was pointed straight at his heart, and he was once again in front of a sturdy hardwood.  Still, Kikyo continued to hold her messenger of death at bay.  Frustration flared again in her heart.  A scream of exasperation was building in her throat, as her muscles became as taut as the string of her bow. 

            _I must break this hold!  What mononoke resides in my heart, that I may let this monster live again at the expense of my own life?  Where this one goes, he brings death with him.  Cannot…hesitate…_

_            …Relax, you love him…_

_            I do not!  I cannot!  He is my enemy, and an enemy of my people!_

_            …Come now, your people have accepted him, and even your dear sister is at ease in his presence…_

_            Kaede…she is…untrained, and easily confused by youkai cunning._

_            …At one time, you too fell for that cunning, yet you called it love…_

_            I was as great a fool as she.  In the end, my life was lost to him, but now I have returned, and I will finish what is my destiny to finish!_

_            …Yes, this is destiny.  But his death is not what you desire.  Your destiny is bound to his.  You belong to him, now and forever…_

_            I belong to no one!  I am a miko, and I will fulfill my final duty!_

_            …You cannot, for this one transcends duty.  This one is your link to life.  Go to him.  Lay down your arms and give in to him.  Happiness and something greater than a second death are what await you.  Forget your duty.  Become a woman…_

_            …No!_ _I…can never…forget…_

            Uncertainty bled from her as she released the string.  Pure death surged from her and leapt down toward her target.  He looked up in time to see the blazing pyre, but not in time to react.  He watched in horror as it came toward him, then past him to collide with the tree behind him.  He looked up the hillside, realizing that his death had been temporarily averted, but that danger still lurked.  His claws flexed, ready to strike.  He sniffed again, but still could detect nothing.

            Kikyo watched his confusion grow greater, while greater turmoil entered her own heart.  She found that she relished his disorientation, while at the same time simply wanted to rise from her hiding place, go to her lover, and embrace him.  Kikyo's mind spun with choices.  Her heart ached with the weight of her myriad emotions.  Kikyo realized that, for all intents and purposes, she was just as confused as her prey.  She knew she had to make a decision.  So she did.

            Inuyasha heard a rustling behind him and looked up.  There, striding confidently from the trees, was the woman he thought he would never see again.  His love, the woman he dreamed of and would sacrifice all for, his Kikyo.   His mind buzzed with all the questions he had, and all that he wanted to tell her.  He began to approach her, but halted at the familiar crackling sound of white Magik. 

            Suddenly, to his eyes, Kikyo appeared to be limned in white flame.  Her body burned with a light that stung his eyes, and heat from her skin rolled over him, making him feel as if his own flesh was being seared away.  He tried again to draw near to her, but in vain.  Inuyasha stumbled backwards, crying out in pain.  As he stood there, panting heavily, Kikyo spoke, her voice martial, displaying no emotion and brooking no resistance.

            "You come no closer, Inuyasha."  Then in a lower, wearier tone, "You still haven't learned, have you?  Always approaching your enemy without heed.  You had best listen to my words, if you wish to keep your soul."  In response to this, Inuyasha stood up again after recovering from his contact with Kikyo's protection spell.  Finally, he gained the breath to reply.  His eyes took on the cast of wonderment. 

            "Kikyo…you're alive?  But I thought that after the fall…"

            "Don't you mean that you were hoping for my demise?  I told you, I will not die until your body is cold, and my vengeance complete."  Even as she spoke the words, they struck her ears as lies.  "You are either courageous or foolish to track me.  I am a miko, and you are my prey.  You live now only by my grace.  Speak warily." Her mind screamed at her to be gentle, kind, but her soul only remembered the searing pain of demon claws destroying her flesh.

            "What are you doing here?"  Inuyasha asked.

            "That is none of your concern.  I might ask the same of you.  Coming to destroy another village or perhaps seduce and destroy another vulnerable miko?"

            "Kikyo, that wasn't me!"

            "You are lying, hanyou!"

            "No, I told you before, I wasn't the one who wounded you!"

            "Impossible!  I saw your face, your hate-filled eyes, heard your voice!  Your words I can never forget.  Such is the depth of the scars you gave me.  You bastard!  I should have killed you when I had the chance!"  Kikyo's serene mask contorted in fury, so suddenly that Inuyasha leapt back again.  Meanwhile, Kikyo brought her bow up, laid an arrow to the string, and raised it, ready to deliver pure death to the hanyou in her sights.  Yet again, she did not immediately release the shaft.  Instead her brow darkened as she stared again into Inuyasha's golden eyes.  He could only stand there, transfixed by the beauty of his love, but also by the pain radiating from her shining eyes.  He felt his heart clench and he wished he could only sell his soul to take it away from her.

            "Inuyasha, you act as if you are innocent of everything, and none question you.  You, of corrupt blood.  You, who have killed so many, both youkai and human.  But remember, I know you as well as you know yourself.  Your desires, your fears, your strengths, your weaknesses.  I also know the truth.  Do not forget this.  The feelings in my heart will never die."  With this final statement, Kikyo removed her arrow, returned it to the quiver, and laid her bow at her side.  The hate in her eyes cooled, and Inuyasha could now see fully the emotional weariness that afflicted her.  Again, needles of ice stabbed his soul in a thousand places, and he ached to hold her, but even he knew that if he stepped close, her hate would rise again.  He held his ground, but inside he felt he would rather die at her hands than see his love in pain.

            Kikyo began to turn away from him.  She was leaving, receding back into the darkness, and Inuyasha could not stand to lose her again.

            "Kikyo, wait!"  Her weary eyes turned to his.  "Don't…go…"

            "I must.  As long as I am in this state, our paths can never again be one.  Farewell." Kikyo faded back into the undergrowth, and Inuyasha soon stood alone in the clearing.  Kikyo had gone completely.  Inuyasha could feel his soul being ripped in two.

Sinking to his knees and gripping the dirt with his claws, he threw back his head and cried out to the peaceful sun.

            "**_KIKYO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_**"

…………………

            Kikyo's heart clenched once, but her feet continued their journey home.

…………………

            That night, in the decimated village of the Taijiya, where defeat had once seemed imminent, the sounds of victory rang free.  The skies were alight with the celebration pyres that filled the village with warmth and light.  All were happy, and through great pains the village gathered all it had and provided a feast fit for a great lord.  Food and sake ran in plenty for all.  And all partook of each in plenty. 

            The highest flame of all stood in the center, where the heroes of the day were gathered.  In a circle surrounding it sat the greatest, noble and most courageous of the entire village's warriors, its newest elder, an unlikely group of allies, and one who by all accounts should not have been there.  Yet in the midst of these honorable heroes stood one young youkai.

            At this time, just before the celebration would throw off its chains and run like a wild dog, the young elder called the people together.  In a high and ringing voice, Sango spoke.

            "Youkai Taijiya!  Hear me!"  The throng of people, several hundred strong in spite of their losses, fell into reverent silence.  The respect they held for their elder was evident in the simple act of how closely the people held their tongues.  Even the children fell silent.  Sango continued.

            "This very day, in the midst of darkness and horrors, we have been graced with a miracle.  Youkai, our sworn enemies, have stormed our gates and tried to exterminate us as we have vowed to exterminate them.  _But they have failed!"_

The crowd erupted in cheers and the roar filled the air all around.  It carried over everyone, an infection that boiled the blood of all and drove the cacophony to new heights.  This continued for several minutes, until Sango raised her hand and once again demanded silence.

            "Today, our end drew nigh.  Destruction and death were brought into our very homes.  A cunning enemy conspired against us and sought our downfall.  Instead of destroying us though, we prevailed, and drove him and his army from this place.  Yet the credit for our victory does not belong to the Taijiya alone."

            At this point, all the warriors gathered around the bonfire uncrossed their legs and rose to their feet.  The youkai was the last to rise, only doing so after a gentle nudge of Kagome's elbow.  The people cast their eyes upon them, and cheered again.  The youkai reddened noticeably, and shifted from foot to foot nervously. 

            "Other allies joined us in our time of need.  The brave Inuyasha, a hanyou, who is not currently among us.  The priest Miroku, who lent his staff and magical energy to the task of defeating Naraku.  Even Shippo and Kagome dedicated their skill and intellect to aiding me personally.  For this, we owe them our eternal thanks."  Another cheer burst forth.  "This brings me to our most important ally, who was also the most unlikely.  He is one of the enemy, but lent his strength to our cause.  The salvation of our village, the youkai, Eric."

………….

            The cry of the assembled throng washes over me in a ringing tide.  I'd be lying if I said I expected this.  Here I stand now, sweating my ass off, not because of the roaring blaze behind me, but because of the roaring crowd in front of me.  They're cheering for many reasons, I know, but I know that one of them, not the least of them either, is me.  They're grateful.  Grateful to be alive, grateful to have their friends, family, and familiars with them, and grateful for their momentous victory over Naraku.  A victory I helped secure.

            Over a thousand eyes are laid upon me, and I search every one, yet find no trace of what I would expect to be there, especially considering who I am and who they are.  I should see hate, anger, disgust…but none of that reflects from their dancing eyes.  I see different things instead: pride, happiness, joy, and even admiration from some of the younger members of the village.  It's been awhile since anyone looked at me like that.  Actually, I've never had anyone look at me that way before! 

            Again, emotion squeezes my throat and heart, as I consider that for the first time in my life, I stand surrounded by people who are simply happy to be alive.  I know that not a single one is thinking about their checkbook, or their bank account, or bills.  I know they sure as hell aren't worrying about whether their insurance will cover the damage caused by the youkai.  These people are happy to be alive.  Fathers and mothers hold their babies in their arms, or stand with their arms wrapped around their older children.  Young men, scarred from battle, hold on to their sweethearts, some of which are equally scarred or even more so.  To my left lay several mats, on which rest the Taijiya wounded.  Even they are grinning ear to ear and waving their arms toward us.  Warriors and housewives, adults and children, men and women, young and old, all are here to do nothing else other than celebrate life.

            And even I, in spite of all that's happened in the past week: my near-death experience, correction: experiences, learning that the people of my home world are responsible for many of the terrible atrocities and injustices that are occurring here, my confusion as to what I'm actually _doing _here and how I came here in the first place, and of course, my feeling of total displacement, don't feel half bad right now.  As is quite obvious, I'm standing in a place most anime freaks would die to be in.  I'm in the middle of a village in the Sengoku Jidai, standing next to some of the most loved characters in the anime world.  I know that several of my ex-girlfriends would kill to just be able to get their hands on Shippo, which is why I'm happy for the little kitsune's sake that I came alone.  The other half of the female population that I knew would probably want to rape Miroku.  As for guys, I think that every anime freak I knew would want to sleep with either Sango or Kagome, or maybe even both.  Hell, some of the more sadomasochistic ones would have simply died for the sheer privilege of getting their asses bashed into the ground by Hiraikotsu.

             As one, the eyes of the people shift from me and back to their elder, back to Sango.  I'm a little relieved to have the pressure off, since I'm not used to being the center of more than two people's attention, let alone the hundreds assembled here.

"Taijiya!  Today, we triumphed!  Tonight, let us celebrate!  You are alive, so revel in life!  Dance!  Sing!  Eat and drink until you can do so no longer!  We have survived, now let all of our enemies, indeed, all of Japan hear our victory!"

And again the crowd cheers, shaking the very air around us.  As the emotional cries subside, new sound comes to fill the gap.  From places in the crowd, drums begin to pound, accompanied by the trilling of ancient wind instruments.  Singing can be heard, loud, rapturous battle songs.  The people, on the order of their elder, begin to partake of the merriment around them, and soon their focus is off of us completely.

At this time, I sigh audibly and  walk away from the crowd as the celebrations continue to grow in intensity.  Suddenly, an iron hand grips my shoulder and turns me around.  I am soon face to face with the imposing features of Captain Tomaru.

            "Umm…Hey." First he just stares down at me, his eyes almost a foot above my own, and I'm almost six foot.  Then, his hard, square jaw relaxes, and his thinly pressed lips break in a smile.  I relax a little, but not much.  He's got that 'sadistic maniac' thing going…

            "Greetings to you, Eric.  Are you enjoying the festivities?"

            "Yeah, it's great."  _Great, in spite of the fact that I was nearly killed and spent most of the day passed out on a concrete slab. _

"Very good.  Would you mind accompanying me a short way?"  Ummm….Do I really want to trust this guy?  Well, by the iron vice on my shoulder that happens to be Tomaru's arm, I don't think I have a choice.

            "Sure."

            "Good, let us make haste."  Tomaru then half leads, half drags me away from the festivities and across the deserted part of the village to the armory.  Why in the flaming hell is he bringing me back here?  Didn't I spend enough time passed out in the back?!  I have no time to react as he forces me through the opening and into another room, this time to the left.  Like the other room it has a dirt floor and concrete walls covered in weapons: scythes, swords, shurikens, boomerangs, and even _sais_.  This room lacks a central work surface, but on the far wall is a small platform, on which rests a small bundle wrapped in a red silk shroud.

            Tomaru releases my shoulder and pushes me into the room, but does not follow.  Instantly it hits me: youki.  It surrounds me and penetrates my mind.  It sets everything spinning, but I manage to keep my feet.  I look up and see that the mysterious bundle is emanating a crimson light, the same as the villager's weapons, only much thicker and darker.  To my eyes, it looks like the bundle is covered in thick red jam.  Also, I am beginning to get that strange sense again, and I suddenly know what is beneath that shroud: a weapon, or at least a youkai bone that could be made into a weapon.  But by the special treatment this one is getting, it must be something that not even the Taijiya weapon smiths want to mess with.  What the hell am I doing in here?  Is Tomaru trying to kill me again?

            Then, I begin to sense something akin to what I felt when I first entered the village.  Suddenly, I know where the object in that bundle came from, and why nobody around here wants to touch it.  It's powerful, and it holds a wellspring of bad memories for the people of the village.

            Again, something touches my mind, but instead of a simple snapshot this time, I see a film, a river of images that brings me to my knees.

            _First_ _I see fire.  It coats the village like a crimson snow, engulfing all that it touches.  The heat from it is searing; my eyes are watering and the hairs on my arms are burning away.  Smoke from the blaze burns in my lungs and forces me to cough uncontrollably._

_            Next I see people.  They are everywhere: some running into the blaze, some away from it.  I notice that those heading for the flames are all Taijiya warriors carrying swords, scythes, and spears.  Those running away are women and children, carrying their scant belongings in their arms.  I can smell fear on all, intermixed with the smells of blood and fiery death._

_            And the source of that death hangs like a dark cloud above it all, a supernatural lord of a horrific empire: a Dragon.  A _Black_ Dragon, just like me._

_            He towers above everything, raining flame onto the ground and the helpless warriors standing against him.  They charge bravely, attempting to attack the base of the creature and bring him down, but it is no use; claws and an enormous maw meet any who get close enough.  The dragon still stands, despite all efforts at its demise.  Its eyes glow fiery crimson and its jaws part wide in a caricature of a smile.  And why shouldn't it be gleeful?  Victory is guaranteed.  These humans will not last, and the village will be laid to waste._

_            Suddenly, a giant loop of cord is sent sailing over the beast's head, falling past its face and around its neck, where it is pulled taut.  The smile fades.  The light in its eyes turns to anger, moments before it is pulled to the ground. I look past the beast, who is stunned momentarily, to the human warrior standing above its head.  He is familiar somehow…wait, he looks like Sango's father!  But it can't be.  In fact, I 'm willing to bet that her father isn't even a child yet.  But it is definitely someone of Sango's blood._

_            Yet it doesn't matter who he is, because the tide has turned, and victory now sits in the hands of the Taijiya.  Their warriors swarm onto the beast and furiously attack its unprotected chest and belly.  In minutes, blood begins to flow and finally, the beast is eviscerated; its tail twitches once, and it is gone._

_            As  the beast's life fades, the village appears to swim, then disappear completely.  Fire ceases to burn my eyes and the sounds of battle recede.  I am standing in nothing but empty darkness.  Empty, until the Dragon appears.  Its eyes, once burning with rage, now appear empty and cold.  It says nothing, however, but its body begins to unravel in front of me.  Fangs, claws, scales, skin and bones from a twisting tornado.  Then the tornado unravels as well, and a stream of power rockets inside of me.  Consumed, I fly back into the darkness. _

I open my eyes.  There in front of me is the sword, pulsing with a new energy.  It calls to me.  I can hear the dragon's roar in my mind, and in that chaos it is telling me to accept, to receive this last surviving piece of it.  Unable to resist, I rise from a crouch and stride forward to the low table.  Untying the cord, I reach down, pull the shroud away, and finally lay a hand on the leather handle.  Again, power rockets through me, and I can feel the dragon's voice, in my mind.

            _Greetings, whelp.  You have come for me._

_            What?_

_            You have come to set me free, so that together we may take our vengeance on these pitiful creatures._

_            Who are you, and why do you hate the Taijiya?_

_            Fool!  They dared strike down a creature far greater in power and grace than they!  These humans are ants, and I vowed long  ago to crush them as such.  But these fools apparently had luck on their side, and it was I who was struck down.  Yet a new day has dawned.  You, young brother, have come to take my power, resting in this blade, into your hands.  Wield it well, and strike down those who would harm your brethren!_

_            What do you mean?  I have no reason to hate these people._

_            What foolishness do you speak?  Are you not a dragon, whelp?  We are the rightful lords of this land.  We will rule them, and they will obey our every word!  Now, take the sword and be rid of these vermin!_

_            No._

_            What?_

_            I said no.  I don't know who you were, but you are not like me, though Dragon I may be.  You once tried to destroy the Taijiya, but were destroyed in the process.  Now you want me to finish the job you started?  _No!  _I'm not going to put these people through any more hell.  I don't want to hurt anyone, and I'm not going to cause any more bloodshed!  I don't who you think you are, but I'm not going to help you, and if you want me to hurt innocent people, then you can go to hell!_

_            Indeed, I thought I was dealing with a true warrior, not a groveling animal._

_            A true warrior doesn't murder the innocent.  That's being a butcher.  I have nothing to say to you, murderer.  I won't do what you want.  You can rot here forever for all I care._

_            …Wait, whelp…_

_            What?_

_            What is it that you want?_

_            What do you mean?_

_            I mean, what do you desire for your life?_

_            I don't know, but it doesn't seem right to hurt anything, unless it deserves it._

_            So you do not know what you desire?_

_            …I…guess I don't._

_            Well, I have this to say to you: a Dragon is a creature that knows what it desires, and seeks to take it, and will go to any means to get it.  He is master of his domain, and will bow down to no one.  In battle, his heart is full of fire and he will not rest until his foe is torn to shreds or burnt to ashes.  You seem to be one who does not let others push you from your path, no matter how uncertain the path is.  I admire your courage, standing up to me and holding fast to your own way.  Therefore I will make this pact with you: as long as you stay true to yourself, and never disgrace your Dragon's blood with cowardice and indecision, I will lend my power to you.  It does not matter if you love humans or hate them.  I will stand beside you in battle, as long as you heed my words._

_            If you speak the truth, then I accept your pact.  Now what?  _

_            Take the sword.  My power is yours to command._

I listen to the dragon's words.  I hold the sword up, and the youki, hostile in the beginning, has dissipated.  I hold the sword in my hands, uncertain of what exactly has just happened.  Out of the corner of my vision, I notice Tomaru eyeing me from the doorway.

            "It appears that the curse has been lifted."

            "What curse?"

            "Six decades ago, the people of this village were at war with another powerful enemy, a nameless Black Dragon who ruled over them all.  This dragon, like all youkai, sought to eradicate us and rule over the land of Japan.  We fought him countless times, until one day he located our village and attacked.  Many fell in that battle, and much of the village was destroyed.  Much like our recent fight, only the armory survived.  The only reason our village was saved was through the might of the man who was chief in that time, Sango's grandfather.  His unimaginable strength brought the creature down and it was defeated.

            In accordance with Taijiya custom, he had first claim on the beast's remains, and chose the highest rib on the left.  Once he had this piece, he went into the armory for three days and three nights.  On the first day, the sounds of work could be heard.  But on the second day, terrible cries, both man and beast, echoed across the village. On the third day, the armory shook with unknown force and a dark mist covered the village.  On the fourth day the screams stopped and the mists cleared, and he emerged, but no weapon could be seen.  Moreover, a room in the armory was closed off, and he warned all to never again enter it.  All have held to those words, until today.

             You see, I, like many others, came to know what was hidden in the room.  We realized it was a weapon of great power that was possessed by the malevolent soul of our former enemy, so that no human could ever wield the weapon.  When I saw you, however, I wondered if it might be possible for a youkai to possess it.  Eric, you have proven your worth to my people, though some do not trust you.  In gratitude, I decided to give you a chance to wield the weapon that our greatest warrior couldn't.  I know not what you have experienced, but the sword accepts you as it has never accepted anyone before.  If that is the case, then you may keep it."

            "Tomaru, thanks."

            "It is my pleasure.  May you wield it with honor, and protect others as you have protected my people."

            "I'll try." 

            Tomaru walks outside and I follow, more than a little humbled by what has happened.  What really gets me is the fact that the Taijiya have had their whole village destroyed twice in sixty years.  It seems like these people never get a break.  Of course, in these times, I don't think anyone is really getting a break, with all the youkai and psychos running around. 

            "Eric?"

            "Yeah?"

            "Are you aware of the Taijiya dancing rituals?"

            "No, not really."

            "Well, we have a saying in this village: 'Beneath a great warrior is an even greater dancer.'  It is a truthful saying, and I will prove it to you.  Come watch the greatest of us."

            Together we walk back to the roaring crowd, where the party is now in full swing, complete with everyone going nuts on the sake.  When the crowd gets thick, I have to push several revelers off of me just to keep from getting crushed.  Tomaru strides easily ahead of me, easily a foot taller than everyone.  They just seem to roll out of his way. 

            Once through the crowd, I see a smaller fire where several people are gathered in a circle.  Three people stand in the center.  One of them is Sango, still dressed in her fighting outfit, complete with sword and facemask, but without the Hiraikotsu.  No way…are you telling me she's gonna…

            We draw close and the people in the circle make room for us to sit down.  I quickly notice that Kagome, Shippo, and Miroku are here, all with a heaping plate of chow in front of them, with sake on the side.  And there, on the far side, is Inuyasha, looking as sullen as ever.  If the fire wasn't burning, I'd be able to smell him better, and I have a sneaking suspicion that I would find Kikyo's scent wafting on the breeze.

            Taking my eyes off of him, I take a seat, coincidentally finding myself between Kagome and Miroku.  Kagome doesn't look too happy, and Miroku ain't exactly a ray of sunshine, either.  Jeez, everyone's got a bug up their ass.  Shippo is the only one who seems immune to the melancholy atmosphere, happily chowing down on everything in front of him.  Thankfully, they forgot his sake.

            Suddenly, there is a call for silence by one of the Taijiya in the center of the circle.  Of course, the circle is already pretty quiet as it is.  In fact, we're probably the only people here not partying our asses off.  Once silence is complete, it begins.  The one thing this anime fan never thought he'd see.  Sango, champion warrior of the Taijiya, began to dance.

            It began slowly, in silence.  Sango, accompanied by two other female warriors, began to walk slowly around the circle, her face a calm mask.  After ten revolutions, a light thrumming could be heard from somewhere on the other side of the fire, where a band was sitting.  At this, their pace became faster, and other moves, like spins and dips were added in.  Still, the pace remains slow.  In spite of this, it is easy to see how graceful Sango truly is.  Her movements are perfect, and I can see most of the men in the circle staring at her.  Even Inuyasha raises his eyes.

            Two strums of a string, and without warning, the dance ignites.  Out of nowhere, all of the instruments begin to play, and the warriors' pace goes from insipid to insane.  The circle moves faster and faster, sometimes changing direction with a jump.  Swords flash out of sheaths, and the women begin to engage in mock duels.  The dance soon becomes something like a battle, which makes sense, given their warrior nature.  After a while, their movements become so fast that they appear to blur, even to my eyes.  Blows are made, then blocked and countered, or dodged outright, all with angelic grace. 

            I quickly begin to recognize the song that is being played.  It's impossible, but they seem to be playing a rudimentary version of 'Tajiya Sango' Sango's character theme for Inuyasha.  How this has happened I don't know, but if Takahashi can make a real world into an anime series, then I guess some composer can make a song out of an ancient tune.  It seems that anything in this world can be recreated in  ours.

            With the finality of a whip crack, the dance stops.  The warriors, in their fighting positions, turn to us and bow, then walk from the circle.  There is loud applause as they go.  The two unnamed women leave our group, but Sango stays, taking a seat in the circle between Tomaru and Kagome.  She is apparently in better spirits than all of us combined: she is smiling, even though she is slightly winded and sweat dots her brow.  Even so, she begins to notice the unusually somber tone of the group.

            "Is everyone enjoying themselves?"  A few half-hearted responses mar the silence. Kagome and Shippo respond lightly, Inuyasha grunts, and Miroku, for once, is silent as a rock.  Under normal circumstances, he should at least offer some diplomatic response, but instead he says nothing, his face only a mask.

            "You dance beautifully, Sango-chan."  Kagome chirps.

            "Thank you."

            "I do agree with the young woman.  Your grace has done naught but advance with your age and maturity."

            Ouch, there were so many underlying meanings to that statement, I think I'm going to blow a fuse trying not to say anything.  There's no denying it, this guy wants Sango in the worst way.  One thing though: _how does he hide it in that freakin uniform?!_  I really wish I would have thought about the possible consequences of my actions(which I never do, by the way).  My battle against the youkai and the subsequent salvation of the village have had some rather unexpected results, but I have little time to think about this as Sango speaks again, this time to all gathered around the fire.

            "Friends, the past couple of days have been trying for all of us.  Our battles against Naraku have worn the spirits of us all, as well as my people.  However, though these times are difficult for many of us, I believe that we must hold on, and stay the course.  Kagome, Shippo, Inuyasha, and Miroku, you have come to my village to seek the secret of the Sacred Jewel, and since you have helped me, I will gladly reveal everything that I  and my people know.

            Yet after this is complete, the threat of Naraku will still remain, a threat that must be countered, no matter the cost.  It is for this reason I have a request to make of you.  I wish to join you on your quest, until Naraku is destroyed."

            Sango is silent as the shard hunters look at one another.  However, Tomaru is the first to respond.

            "Sango?  Do you truly wish to leave the village?  In this time when you are so needed?"

            "Captain, I know that my people need me, but they have an even greater need for safety.  Our battle here will not stop Naraku's plans for our people's destruction.  He will come again, and we must stop him before he attacks our village or any other.  We must ensure that he does not cause any more bloodshed.  For this reason, I will do what is best for my people, and give him chase."

            "Sango, surely there is another way.  We can assemble a war party to hunt him…"

            "To what end?  We know that he is beyond mere weapons, even ours.  We cannot destroy him on our own, but these people can.  I have seen them in battle, and they possess powers our warriors could only dream of.  Captain, I believe these people are the only ones who can defeat him, and I wish to help them in any way I can.  Until I return, you will have to watch over our village in my stead."

            "If it is your wish, then I will do as you bid.  I only ask that your journey be a safe one, so that you may return to us."

            "I will, if of course, these people would have me?"  This time, it's Inuyasha who rises to his feet.

            "You seem like you can actually fight, and you have just as much a reason to hate Naraku as we do, so you can come with us.  Besides, it'll give me a break from bailing everybody's ass out when things get ugly."  Kagome promptly stares daggers at him, and I wonder if I'm not about to hear the all-powerful 'sit' command.  Unfortunately, I don't, so he continues.  "Anybody have a problem with her comin' along?"  When nobody responds, the hanyou turns to Sango.  "I guess that's a yes.  Welcome aboard."

            "Thank you, everyone, but I have one other request to make.  There is another here that has indicated his wish to challenge Naraku, and has asked me recently to travel with you.  In fact, he is the one who showed me the wisdom of a accompanying you on your quest, and forsaking my duties here.  I ask your permission for Eric to come with us as well."

            Huh?  Me?  Well, I did ask, but I still didn't think she'd really go to bat for me.  This is new.

            "Can he fight?"  Inuyasha asks.

            "Indeed, his strength was the bane of Naraku's forces.  He is quite powerful." Sango responds.

            "Whatever, I'm fine with it."

            "I am a bit worried about his control, however." This time it's Miroku. "If he were to release a spell like this again, it could be just as much of a detriment as an advantage."

            "My control is better then you think."  I say, a little peeved that he's questioning me. "I did cause all this damage, but I didn't take a single human life.  On top of that, I was able to destroy all of Naraku's forces.  I think my control is good enough."

            "Very well.  I have no further objections, but I wonder, what is your reason for wanting Naraku's demise?"

            "Well, you're right to wonder.  I'm new to this place, and I didn't meet Naraku until just a couple of days ago.  Even so, he tried to kill me and harm the people who had helped me out.  Naturally, I don't like that.  Also, defeat is something most humans can't handle, and youkai can handle it even less.  All I've got is a feeling, one telling me to go out, find him, and kill him without delay.  I don't think I'll be able to just let it go.  I won't be able to rest until Naraku is dead." Miroku nods his head, appearing to be satisfied.

            "So, will you welcome this youkai as you have welcomed me?"

            In the end, all agree.  It appears that my journey is about to really begin.

            After discussing the next day's plans, which includes a visit to the cave where the Shikon No Tama was created, the group splits off and heads for their own accommodations.  Kagome and Shippo leave with Sango and head for her shelter, while Miroku and I accompany Tomaru to our own sleeping arrangements.

            And finally, after another in a long series of hectic days, I can lay down to sleep on a decent bed, which only happens to be a straw mat, but its soft, warm, and dry, so I guess that'll have to pass for decent.  I look up, and all I can see are the stars, with only a few trees on the edge of my vision.  Again, I am struck by the beauty of this new land.  This land beyond the stars of my own world, a place where I have been accepted, and where I will soon be joining in a quest to do nothing less than save the world.  If I'm going to survive, I guess I'm going to have to change a little, but I think that's already happening.  Just little things for now, but hey, I don't think you can be youkai and American at the same time, so something's gotta give.  I just wonder if, by the time this is all over, will I still recognize myself?

            "I don't answer consciously, but as I lay down to sleep and close my eyes, the answer emerges from my heart:

            _'I hope not.'_

………………………………………..

Well, my eyes are about to explode and fingers are ready to fall off, but the chapter, my longest ever, is finally finished.  Stand by for mental collapse…**_THUD._**  No!  Wait, there is a new feature for this fic, which will appear in all of my others: shout-outs!  All of those who have reviewed in the past will get a personal response from me, as a way of expressing my undying gratitude.

Elerina:  Different name, same face.  I still have nothing to say to you.

ArrDee:  You're right, card games and anime do make a pretty insane crossover, but its not really a Magic-Inuyasha crossover, I just kind of stole the whole 'planeswalker' idea because it fit what I was trying to do.  It really won't have anything to do with the realm of Magic, though.  High literary quality?  From the sound of it, you're a hell of a lot closer to writing like Fitzgerald than I am, but thanks for the mondo compliment.

Arsenal: You're definitely right about the fight scenes.  I rarely see good ones myself, and I make sure to let people to know if I think a particular brawl got my blood racing.  In regards to my personal feelings, I will only say that there are things in the world that bother me.  I don't completely hate life, if that's what you're wondering, but I can't say that I'm completely happy with what I see everyday.  That's why I seem to be critical of the human race in general in some places.

Aftertaste of a Razorblade:  Ouch, morbid name.  First of all, I would like to apologize for a certain review I left for one of your stories.  It was my first flame and there really wasn't an excuse for it, and I'm very sorry.  Thank you for proving you are a bigger person and giving me a good review in spite of what I said.

Eric is a prick: First of all, I'm NOT a prick.  Second, if you're going to drop a completely pointless flame on someone, leave a SIGNED review, not some wimpy, piece-of-crap, anonymous trash.

Lady Destiny:  Greetings, dear reviewer.  Yes, I know, there will be a lot of fainting in this story.  Of course, there's plenty of reason TO faint, don't you think?  As for the pairing, you'll just have to wait and see.

Kristine Batey: You've got to be the best writer I've ever read on this site, and it goes without saying that I am incredibly honored to receive reviews from you, as well as nominations for awards from IY Fanguild.  I hope to continue updating, so that you will hopefully continue to review with same enthusiasm and encouragement.  Thank you very, very much.

D-Chan3:  You wanted longer?  You wanted Eric to travel?  You got both!  I hope you didn't fall asleep in the middle of it.  The damn thing was about twelve pages long.   Thanks also for your enthusiasm.

RMD:  Thanks for your thoughtful analysis of my work.  Now finish it!  And remember: you only need to push the SEND button ONCE, not SIX TIMES!  Although it did boost my review numbers…

Inugirl0621:  I know very well that you like Shippo, and I believe I made reference to that in the chapter.  One thing I don't understand: how are people going to sue fanfiction writers if they're writing for FANFICTION.net?  I'll never understand legal shit.

DemonSorceress: Actually, I'll write anytime, including the holidays, so you can't possible bother me.  You wanted Naraku and Sango, and here they are.  And I hope to keep moving and not fall into another writing slump.

Chisaii-tori:  ILOVEYOUILOVEYOUILOVEYOU…Okay, now that THAT'S out of the way, I just want to say how much I appreciate your constant feedback.  Your reviews easily outnumber everyone else's, and as I said before, you're the only person to review every chapter.  I wish you great luck with your own writing endeavors, and of course, your job.  Thank you!

            In response to your questions: Yes, we will be seeing more of Miroku.  He will actually be the center of a pivotal point in the story, as well as his own love triangle, which is now beginning to take shape.  As for humans turning into youkai, you'll still have to wait, since that issue will be addressed in later chapters.  Finally, the whole 'heart of an angel' thing did NOT come from real life.  If anyone said that to me, I'd accuse them of being on crack cocaine.  I DO NOT have an angel's heart.

Kiyone Signatta: Ah, my fanfiction disciple.  One thing, I don't think most Inu fans have a crush on Kikyo.  In fact, I don't think any do.  I don't, really, but I do love the Kikyo in my story…as for the whole kissing scene, I'm surprised I didn't get hate mail for that.

Zionna:  My other devoted follower.  You can't see me as a youkai?  I could, although picking one's nose could quickly become a delicate operation.  In regards to WacDonalds, I actually put that in before your whole experience happened.  But it was funny how that worked, huh?  


	11. Hello All

Hello all. I'm afraid I have some bad news for the fans of this fic. The bad news is that it is going to be discontinued as of now. However, there is good news. The reason I am discontinuing the story is that I plan to make it into an original fiction to be published. It may never get that far, as I am terrible at continuation, but I have already begun the originalization process and have hashed out my main ideas. I may even post excerpts from the story on under Kaze No Baka. Other than that, though, this story will be gone from the public domain.

I want to thank those of you who have continuously read my work, even after months of not hearing from me. This does not mean I won't continue writing, and I may actually get better at updating. In fact, I may be adding a new story to the mix if I can get my rhythm going. But this fic will be updated now for my eyes only. However, if you're walking through a bookstore one day and see 'Stormwalker,' be sure to grab it!

Sincerely,

Shadowheart


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